Into My Blood
by vamp2thecore
Summary: Takes place at the end of Breaking Dawn and after. Leah Clearwater is the only girl in her pack of wolves,The Cullens and the wolves are getting set to fight the Volturi,but Leah is jolted by a sudden change in gravity. Read, to find out more!
1. Morning

**I do not own Twilight or the characters**

**but I do tell them what to do from time to time!**

**Leah's POV**

Prologue

The mornings are the worst. I wake up in a cold sweat, clutching my chest and breathing at an alarming rate. I reach for the warm body that used to lie next to me, but now it's just a cold pillow that I latch onto. The tears come next; they stream down my face like waves over a dock when the tide is high. You think after so long I would get used to this, but the pain never goes away. I still feel abandoned, and if it weren't for the pounding of my heart in my chest, I'd think I was dead. Yeah…the mornings are the worst.

**I'm back. Here is my second story, Into My Blood, as you can see it is Leah's POV. There is so much that is going to happen in this story and I can't wait to share it with you all!!!! Please R&R The first chapter will be up soon, and there will be no wasting time, were getting right into the thick of things!! **


	2. Some Unholy War

**I do not own Twilight or the characters**

**but I do tell them what to do from time to time!**

Leah's POV

**Some Unholy War**

I sat down on my hind legs to take a rest. It had been a long couple of weeks. First, Bella comes home all prego and now we're here getting ready to fight these freaks in robes called the Volturi. God, all I want is a normal life. I guess _norma_l is too much to ask for.

_I can't believe this. These leeches really think they are going to come here and take us out? Yeah, not gonna happen. Granted, I don't like the Cullens or their friends but, I am in the mood for a good fight._

"_Shut up Leah, we need to stay focused. What if they pounce? We need to be ready!"_

"_Oh, pipe down Seth, we'll be ready… Oh God, one of those nomads is asking permission to speak. I'm not in the mood for a speech. Can we get this over with? I haven't slept in days and I need some rest."_

"_Leah, his name is Garrett. He is a good friend of Dr. Cullen's. Show some respect and shut up! I'm warning you."_

"_Warning _me_ little brother? Oh I'm sooo scared. Why don't you shut up with all that Leech love you've got for the Cullens and their "nomad friends"? What is he going on about?"_

"These Ancients did _not_ come here for justice as they told you. We suspected as much, and now it has been proved. They came, misled, but with valid excuse for their actions…"

"_Blah, Blah, Blah, Ancients. Huh, Garrett, we shall see about that. Besides, they don't even look that scary. That little one there looks like she could break if a strong wind blew past her. And the guy next to her with the dark brown hair … Oh God, what just happened?"_

"_Leah, what the hell is wrong with you? Get focused!"_

"_Not now Jake. Something happened. I…oh God, no, he… did I… OH, GOD!"_

It would happen to me, the only girl in the pack. The only one not sure if I could even imprint and here I go, mindlessly staring across the field sizing up my opponents and I lock eyes with one. He was of average height, maybe a little taller than me, dark brown hair and his face…He was the perfect combination of Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. He had sharp bone structure with flawless skin, his lips were perfect. Just the right size; not too small, but big enough to complement mine perfectly. Even his eyes were a beautiful blood red crimson, but I still found myself getting lost in them.

"_Leah, did you just… oh no Leah. Tell me you didn't just do that, not with the Leech!"_

"_SHUT UP PAUL. DON'T YOU DARE CALL HIM THAT, DO YOU HEAR ME?… Wait, what am I saying? Umm, is he staring at me? Why is he staring at me? God, my heart feels funny. What the hell? This can't be happening… What are you looking at Edward? Stay focused. I don't need any trouble from you right now, so turn around. Wait, why are they leaving? What just happened? Seth, what just happened?"_

"_Leah, have you not been paying attention? It's over. They're leaving because they got scared. Bella scared them off with her shield! It's over!!!!" _

"_NO! He can't go. GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HIM YOU LEECH. WHY IS THAT LITTLE BITCH PULLING ON HIM, WHO IS SHE? HE WANTS TO STAY. HE'S STILL LOOKING AT ME! HE HAS TO FEEL IT, TOO." _

"_Leah, let's go, NOW. That is his sister. Bella told me about them, now you need to get out of here."_

"_Jake, no…"_

"_NOW, LEAH GO. Get into the woods and phase, we need to talk."_

I ran off into the trees and quickly phased. I grabbed the cut off shorts and tank top that I had tied to my calf. If I hurried, I could still follow his scent and catch up to him. Wait, what am I doing? This guy just came here to kill my family, to kill my pack. Hell, I don't even know his name.

"Leah, what the hell did you do?" Sam came out of nowhere. He must have just phased while I was pacing back and forth because he was buttoning his pants when I turned to look at him. I don't know what it was, but for the first time when I looked up at him, I felt nothing. Usually when I would look at Sam, my heart felt like it was trying to burry itself deeper into my chest. My eyes would naturally get watery and any trace of happiness would leave me. But now, nothing. _God, that feels good_.

"Sam, I don't have time for this, I have to go find… him. I have to find him." I tried to walk away, but Sam would not let me pass.

"No. Jacob said you are to stay here. He wants to talk to you. We _all_ want to talk to you."

"Get out of my way, Sam, you are not my Alpha anymore. I don't have to listen to you, or did you forget?"

"He may not be your Alpha, Leah, but I am, and I say don't move. Do you hear me?" I turned around and Jacob was standing behind me with Seth, Quil, Paul, and Embry standing next to him. I didn't want to fight with Jake, but I wasn't going to let… whatever his name was, get too far.

"Jacob, please, I need to go. I have to find him!" All the boys just stared at me. Paul looked disgusted, Embry and Quil looked worried, and Seth looked sad.

"Leah, we need to talk about this first. Do you have any idea what you have just done? You just imprinted on a _Vampire_, a bad vampire at that. He came here to kill us, to kill you. Edward heard your thoughts on the field, he knows what happened. He told me about Alec."

_Alec. Is that his name? Alec…yes, that's it. He looks like an Alec." _Jacob, I know what he… Alec was here for, but I can't help that. You, of all people, know I can't help it. I didn't choose this. Jacob, please you know me, I need to find him. You have to know what I am going through…"

"Oh, come off it Leah. You're not going and THAT'S FINAL!" Sam starting shouting at me before I could finish.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO SAM? YOU ARE NOT IN CHARGE OF ME, NOT ANYMORE. SO DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME WHAT I CAN AND CANNOT DO!"

"LOOK LEAH, I KNOW YOU FEEL LIKE YOU NEED TO GO AFTER HIM, BUT THIS IS ONE IMPRINT THAT WILL _NOT_ BE WELCOMED!! THAT _THING_ IS DANGEROUS!" That was when I couldn't take anymore. By this time, the Cullens and their friends had entered the forest and they were standing around watching. I didn't care. The tears started to build up in my eyes and I knew this couldn't go any further.

"WHAT DO YOU CARE HUH? I DON'T MATTER TO YOU ANYMORE, REMEMBER? OR DID YOU FORGET! You imprinted on Emily and left me. You left me, Sam, like I never meant anything to you at all. I wake up every morning and I have to force myself out of bed. I avoid half of La Push so I don't have to see you or Emily unless I have to. Do you know how that feels? To love someone with all of your heart and they not want you anymore? Do you? No, you don't, because you have Emily. But I know how it feels. I know how it feels to give yourself to someone mind, body and soul and have them walk out of your life. I know you didn't pick this. I know you didn't want to hurt me, but you did, and you can't take it back now. I know this is wrong Sam. I don't want to love him, but damn it, I can't help it. I have this God awful unholy war going on between my head and my heart. It's telling me, NO, STOP LEAH, YOU CANT LOVE HIM! I can't listen to that voice, Sam. I love him. I do, and as wrong at it may be, my heart is going to win this war. "

I looked at Sam and the look on his face was one I had not seen in a long time. It was full of pain. It reminded me of the day he told me it was over. Only this time, my heart didn't skip a beat. It didn't ache and I didn't stop breathing. I heard a quiet sob a few feet away from me and I looked to my left to see Esme with her face buried in Carlisle shoulder. Bella was holding Renesmee with one arm and her other hand was squeezing Edward's hand. The rest of the Cullens were nowhere to be found this time. I guess they took off to celebrate. Bella looked at Jacob and her red eyes gave him a warning look. She had only been a vampire for a short time, so she didn't have the same golden eyes as the rest of her family, but the red in her eyes was already starting to lighten up.

"Go, Leah. Hurry before I change my mind. Be smart. Don't let them know you are following them. If they catch you… well, I think you know." I ran over to Jacob and gave him the biggest hug possible. I knew he didn't approve, but he knew better than anyone else what is was like to imprint on someone that you are supposed to hate. After all, his imprint was little Renesmee. The half vampire, half human. I gave my brother a hug, but I didn't give him time to say anything. I began to run past Sam on my way out of the forest, but he caught me by my arm.

"I'm sorry," was all he said to me. I sprinted across the field to pick up Alec's scent. I didn't know for sure what he would smell like, but I knew it would be different. The rest of the vampires smelled awful to me... but Alec, I was sure he would smell like heaven. I finally picked up on it and followed it east. I ran as fast as my feet would carry me, leaving my pain and my fears in the forest behind me.

**OOOKay kids! There it is the first official chapter of Into My Blood. I hoped you liked it, I will update soon. My Beta Sw1m4L1fe and I have finals coming up so we will be focused on our studies. PLEASE R&R I would really like to know what you think of this story. I am not used to writing in Leah's POV so I hope it comes off well. I like Leah I think she hides behind her pain but I think Alec will bring out some good things in her. P.S. this fic is ratted M for future chapters! Yup were going there lol **


	3. Tell Me What Were Gonna Do Now?

**I do not own Twilight or the characters**

**but I do tell them what to do from time to time!**

Leah's POV

**Tell Me What We're Gonna Do Now?**

I ran as fast as I could, following the trail Alec left behind. I wasn't sure what I was going to do when I found him or even if I found him. For all I knew, I could be running to my death. If the Volturi caught me, that was it, I would be dead. I don't know how I was able to pick his scent out from the rest of the group. They all smelled horrible to me, but not Alec. His scent was almost enough to make me weak in the knees. He was the most amazing combination of orange roses and a hot summer day; not too sweet or overpowering. I was maybe a good mile from the field when I stopped dead in my tracks. I closed my eyes to concentrate I realized that the two paths had split. The scent of the other vampires continued east but Alec's headed west, close to where I came from.

"Is he looking for me? Did he go back to find me?" I turned around on my heels and followed the scent back. I followed it up the rocks to the mountain clearing. I reached the rocks where his scent was the strongest and I started to make my way up the mountain. Alec's scent got stronger as I climbed. The sun was shining brightly above me and it was beating down hard. When I reached the top of the mountain, my eyes froze on the sight in front of me.

"Alec?" He was beautiful. He had the palest porcelain skin I had ever seen in my life. He had dropped the black robe that he was wearing earlier that day and under it, he was shirtless with a simple pair of black slacks. His skin was sparkling in the sunlight and I was mesmerized at the sight of him. He was in one word perfect. He was not extremely muscular, but he was lean. His stomach was flat and toned, his arms were semi thin, but they looked as though he could carry the whole world on his shoulders and not stumble once. When I spoke his name, he turned to me almost too fast for me to see.

"Who are you? Why am I here? I should be with my family right now, but…I…" He stared into my eyes and with one glance I knew he was feeling everything I was feeling. He was scared, afraid to let go and let the gravity that was pulling us together take its hold on him. I moved closer to him as slowly as I could.

"Alec, I know this is crazy, believe me I am as confused as you are, but… Alec tilted his head to the left and lifted his left eyebrow. Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Your eyes. You were the wolf at the field. That was you. You looked at me and everything changed. I couldn't take my eyes off of you. My sister tried to pull me away, but God, what have you done to me?!" He flew past me so quickly that I could only feel the wind from him whip across my face.

"Listen, I don't like this either, but I can't stay away from you. You see, I imprinted on you. I didn't mean to...it just happened."

"What do you mean you _imprinted_ on me? What does that mean?" In one swift move, he was back in front of me, standing so close to me that the light from his skin was reflecting off of my skin. "I should want to kill you right now. I should want to blind you, take away your hearing and force you to walk off of this mountain. But I can't and I don't know why, so you better tell me before I force myself to go against these feelings and make you whimper at my feet."

"You won't do that." He was so close to me I could smell his sweet breath on my face. It took all that I had not to tear the rest of his clothes off and make love to him under the unforgiving sun. I knew I could not do that. He needed to know what was happening to him. "Alec, I imprinted on you. When I saw you on the field and we looked into each other's eyes, we became each other's everything. It is something that happens with my kind. We find the one person that we are meant to be with forever. Most of my pack has imprinted and now I have too. The only difference is that I imprinted on a vampire that came to destroy my family and our friends. I know you hate me Alec, or at least you want to, but you can't. And as much as I should hate you too, I can't do that either. We are drawn together. I know you feel it. Gravity is pulling us together. That is why I came after you and that is why you came back looking for me."

Alec didn't say a word. He stared into my eyes for what felt like an eternity. The electricity was rolling off of our bodies and my breathing became uneven. Alec stepped closer to me and he closed the space between us. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I didn't have time to think before he had his hands in my hair and his lips came crashing into mine. My arms locked around his neck and he deepened the kiss parting my lips with his tongue. Just as I thought, his lips were a perfect match for mine. My mind was going a mile a minute. I couldn't think of anything but him. His skin was as cold as ice, but the combination of his icy touch and the blazing heat that my body produced was heaven. He lightly bit down on my bottom lip, not breaking the skin, but enough to get my attention. Without a second thought, I wrapped my legs around his waist and my fingers tangled into his dark brown hair. Alec began to carry me to the mountain wall when an alarm went off in my head. I quickly pulled his face from mine and released my legs from around his waist.

"Why did you stop? I thought…"

"Shh. Believe me, I didn't want to stop, but I don't know if we can. This has never happened before...a vampire and a wolf. I mean, there's Nessie and Jake, but she's just a baby. _Shut up Leah, too much information too soon. _I mean, we have so much to talk about."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm sorry, I guess I just got carried away. You're so beautiful and you're right, I can't stay away from you. No matter how much I want to kill you right now because I know we are supposed to be enemies, I can't bring myself to do that. I have never felt like this before… wait, what is your name? You know mine, but I don't…" I cut him off before he could finish. I began to laugh hysterically. It dawned on me that I was about to give myself to a man who did not even know my name.

"What are you laughing at?" I could see the corners of his mouth rising while he tried to hide the fact that he was amused at _my_ amusement.

"Leah, my name is Leah. And I am laughing because we were just about to turn this mountain into dust with our bodies and you didn't even know my name. Sorry for laughing, but my name is Leah." Alec was smiling back at me, his bright, perfect white teeth were gleaming in the sun light. His lips were plump and all I wanted to do was to crash back into him again. Alec took a step back and leaned his bare back up against the rocks.

"Leah...that's Hebrew, it means weary. Are you weary, my lovely Leah?" Alec had the sweetest smile on his face, but my face dropped. If only he knew how 'weary' I was. He must have seen the change on my face because he quickly pulled me into his arms and held me to his chest.

"I'm sorry, it's just I have been through a lot these last few years, and-"

"Stop, not now. I don't want to ruin this moment. We are here, me and you, that's all that matters now. Let's spend this time getting to know each other." I laid my ear to his chest and just when I expected to hear a light thumping, I realized there wasn't one.

"Alec, what are we going to do? We can never stay together."

"Shh, Leah, I know. But now that I have found you, I'm never going to give you up. I am a stubborn man. I always get what I want, and what I want is you. I don't know how this is going to work out, but it will, I promise you that."

"But your family, Alec. They just left here after trying to murder my pack and the Cullens. They won't let you stay with me. I haven't the slightest idea what we are going to do."

"Leah, let's just enjoy the time we have together now. I have to leave soon. I told my family that I came back to keep an eye out on the Cullens. They will know something is wrong if I do not find them tonight. We will work this out later."

I spent the next few hours in Alec's arms sitting up against a rock. He told me all about him and his sister Jane. He told me how they became vampires and how Aro had saved their lives when they were almost burned at the stake. He told me about Volturi and how he secretly longed to be free. I told him all about Forks and the reservation, about my tribe's history and how I was the first female wolf in my pack. We were getting to know each other so well, and just as I was going to tell him about my dad's death and Sam, the sun set over the horizon.

"Leah, I have to go. They will come looking for me if I don't go now. Aro is very protective and he likes to keep us close to him. I promise you, I will come back. Can you meet me here in one month to the day at sunrise? We are going to be together, Leah, I promise you that."

"I'll be here. One month from now, right here, I promise. Please be careful. I can't lose you Alec. I didn't even know if I would be able to imprint and now that I have, I won't let you go."

Alec pulled me to him and for the second time on our mountain top his lips crushed mine with so much power I thought my legs would give out on me. He let me go and took off down the mountain.

I ran the opposite direction back towards La Push. The further I ran, the more my heart broke. All I wanted was to be with him, to hold him and learn all I could about him. _One month Leah, give it one month and he will be yours again._ I reached La Push as the dark sky set in. I ran to the front porch of my house and stopped to compose myself before I entered. When I opened the door, Jacob, Seth, and the rest of the Pack were sitting in the living room waiting for me. _So much for ending the night on a good note._

**Well, there is chap 2. I hope you all are enjoying this story so far, I got such a wonderful surprise in my inbox when I saw all of the reviews and alerts and favs for this story. Please R&R and tell me what you think, I want to write a good story and I would love to hear from you all. **


	4. Make Damn Sure

**Before you all dive into the latest chapter of Into My Blood, I wanted to thank you ALL for all of the wonderful reviews I have received. This is my second fanfic and I have NEVER received so many reviews on one chapter before. I want to give a SPECIAL shout out to SimplyDazzling, I was so overwhelmed and flattered by your review I wanted to show you some love!!! When I opened your review in my inbox I was shocked at how much you had written and how sweet you were. Thank you sooo much. Thank you all sooo much for the LOVE, it really gives me a boost to try and make each chapter better than the previous one when I see how people respond to them. With that said, sit back and relax, and if you are like the OH SO SEXY Robert P. Grab a Hot Pocket and Enjoy the chapter lol. **

**I do not own Twilight or the characters**

**but I do tell them what to do from time to time!**

**Leah's POV**

Make Damn Sure

I walked through the front door and the looks on the faces of my pack ranged from, once again, amused, angry, indifferent, and sad. I tried to keep myself calm and collected, but the truth was that my emotions were all over the place. I was still on cloud nine after my day with Alec and for the first time in a long time, I couldn't wait to fall asleep in hopes of dreaming about him. On the other hand, I was nervous as hell, though it wasn't because I was afraid everyone was upset with me. I mean come on, since when have I ever given a damn what anyone else thought? I guess I just didn't want to have to defend my love for Alec. He was my imprint. Even though our love was new, it still felt centuries old. I felt like he had known me for song long...maybe even longer than I have known myself. My thoughts of Alec and myself were cut short by Seth loudly clearing his throat. I hadn't realized I was standing in the open door way with a huge grin on my face.

"Oh, hey, sorry guys. Uh, so what's up?" I tried to play it off like I didn't know a huge speech was coming. I knew this wasn't going to be easy. Hell, why should anything be easy? This world was messed up enough already, let's add more fuel to the fire.

"Come off it, Leah. You know very well "_what's up."_ So why don't you wipe that silly school girl grin off of your face and spill it. What happened with the bloodsucker?" I figured Paul was not going to be happy about this, but I also didn't expect him to be the first to say something. I was also shocked when Seth took up for me.

"Shut up, Paul. My sister has every right to be happy. It's about time she found someone. You know how hard it's been on her since Sam… uh, I'm sorry Leah, I know you don't like for me to bring it up."

"It's okay, Seth. I understand why you brought it up, but I'm okay with it now. Sam has Emily and I have Alec." I tried to keep a straight face, but it didn't work out so well.

"Oh God, she's lost her bloodsucker-loving mind." Quil looked up at me from the sofa and said with an odd smile on his face.

"No, I haven't lost my mind. I can't help the way I feel, you all know that. The majority of you have already imprinted, except for Seth. I know this is different and I am not going to pretend like it isn't, but I can't change it, none of us can." I wanted them all to see that I knew this wasn't going to be easy. I hadn't thought all of the details out in my head, but I knew one thing was sure; Alec was going to be a constant in my life from now on. "Oh, and Paul, if I hear you use that term in my home EVER again, there will be nothing anyone will be able to do to stop me from beating your ass, do you understand me?" Paul looked up at me with fire in his eyes, he knew better than to test me. Granted, I wouldn't win the fight, but at least he knew I wouldn't give up until I drew blood. Quil burst out in laughter.

"HAHAHAHA, she tooold…"

"THAT goes for you too Quil. You called him a bloodsucker also, and we both know I can kick your ass." Quil stared back at me with an open mouth. That was one fight I _knew_ I could win. Jacob stood up from his chair and crossed behind me to close the door while he spoke.

"Okay, that's enough with the threats. Leah, what happened? Obviously you found him because you haven't been able to stop smiling and you smell like something terrible. So spill it, we need to know everything. Well, not _everything,_ just the important things."

I moved to the open chair Jake had gotten up from and I sat down. It was my father's old arm chair and I always felt at ease whenever I sat in it. "Okay, what do you want to know? I…we have nothing to hide."

Sam, who had been the quietest of the group, spoke first. He was standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room where we were sitting. I sat up straight and looked in his direction. I was sure what he had to say wasn't going to be good, but I was ready.

"Leah, I know you imprinted on this L-… Alec, but do the two of you really think this can work out? I mean, come on Leah, he is a vampire. He and his family were here to kill us all and now this. I know how strong imprinting is...I think we _both_ know how strong it is, but is it strong enough to keep peace?" Sam brought up great points, but I didn't even get to answer his questions before the next one was asked. This time Embry spoke up.

"Come on Lee, there's no way this can end well. They will come back here because they're going to find out. Are you ready to fight all of those vamps and risk losing your family?"

"Look, I know this isn't going to be easy. I have already told you all that, but I know we can make this work. You don't know him. I know, I know, _I_ barley know him. But I know how much he loves me. You don't know what it is like for him. He hates them. He is only with them because Aro saved him and his sister Jane form being burned at the stake. He wants to be free. I've been thinking and…"

"Leah, how is he going to be with you? His way of "life" goes against everything we fight for. He KILLS people Leah. He is not like the Cullens. The Volturi drink _human _blood, or did you forget?" Jacob was the one to speak this time. I knew he was trying to stay calm. He understood how I felt since he imprinted on Nessie who is half vampire. If anyone understood me, it was Jake.

"Jake, like I was saying, I have a plan. It's not all worked out yet, and I have to talk to Alec about it. I… I am going to talk to him about taking on the Cullen way of life." I was sure they were going to call me crazy and laugh in my face. I was in awe at the silence that filled the room.

"I know that sounds like a lot to ask of someone, but he loves me. If this is what it is going to take for us to be together, then I am sure he will do it."

"Leah, do you really think Alec will accept that? Come on, you've seen Jasper. He has been a vegetarian for a long time and he finds it hard to control himself at times. Alec is not used to this at all. He is used to being able to "eat" whenever he is hungry. Are you sure he can do that? And what makes you think they will give him up that easy? Don't you remember Edward telling us how close they all are. They are just as much a family as we are. Sure they are sick and power hungry, but they have a stronger hold on him than you think." I was taken aback by my little brothers' words. I hadn't realized he had grown up so much. He was so loving, and he wanted me to be happy, but even he had doubts.

"Seth, I know it is going to take some time and some serious thought. This is just an idea. I still have to talk to the Cullens about all of this." That's all it took. Sam was in my face in an instant.

"LIKE HELL YOU WILL, THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM. _OUR_ FAMILY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM!" I didn't let him scare me. I was tired of being treated like a little girl.

"Listen Sam, like it or not, the Cullens ARE a part of our family. I know it sounds crazy coming from me, seeing as less than forty eight hours ago, I couldn't stand them. Look, Jake has Nessie, which means she is a part of our family, and the Cullens are her family, so that makes them our family as well. And like I said before, you are NOT my Alpha, so BACK OFF!" Jake jumped in between us before it got ugly.

"Okay you two, that's enough. I have the final say in what happens in my pack, so Sam, chill out and take a seat." Sam was furious. He wasn't used to Jacob taking the Alpha role so seriously, but he knew he was in the wrong.

"Leah, I am not going to try and change your mind on this because I know you. I know you well enough to know if we don't back you, you will do it on your own and risk your life. I can't have that. I am not happy with this, mainly because I know that it is going to be hard for Alec to change his habits. I was there when Rose almost went after Bella when she was in labor with Nessie. Rose has never slipped up before and she could have killed Bella if I hadn't stopped her first. I know the Cullens pretty well and this will not go over well with most of them, especially Edward and Bella. Don't forget, Alec and the rest of the Volturi just left Forks after coming here to kill them all and Nessie. I know Carlisle, and he is a fair man. He would probably love to give Alec a chance, but he is no fool either. It will take a lot to convince him that his family will be safe. Plus, Leah, you have to think of Sue. She is human, and now Charlie too, are you willing to put them at risk?"

I sat back in my father's chair and I tried to make sense of everything in my head. Jake was right, this was going to be hard, really hard. I had so many people to think about and protect. I tried to clear my head and focus, but all I could see was Alec in my head. He was so beautiful. He was back on the side of the mountain with his head down. The sun was blazing hot and it was reflecting beautifully off of his skin. He slowly picked his head up and looked in my direction. The thought made me smile when I noticed his eyes. They were no longer the dangerous blood-red they had been earlier today. This time, they were the most beautiful shade of amber I had ever seen. At that moment I knew this would work out, even if it killed me.

"Jacob, I have never been more positive of anything in my entire life. Not even you, Sam. I know this is crazy, but I am not going to back down. I have made my mind up." Everyone remained quiet and still. I could see the hurt in Sam's face. I knew it hurt some part of him to hear that I was more positive of a vampire's love than I was of his, but I couldn't help my feelings, just l ike the same way he couldn't help his when he left me for Emily. I wasn't hurt anymore by that. My heart had healed that wound the second Alec's eyes met mine. Seth had a smile on his face as did Embry and Quil. Paul looked skeptical, but I didn't care what he had to say. Jacob's face was the one that hit me the hardest. He had a steady stern look on his face. It was weird because his eyes had a completely different emotion behind them. They looked hopeful. He believed in me, Jacob believed in me.

"Well, Leah, all I can say is you better make **damn sure **you know what you are doing."

"No worries, Jake, I got this." And with the stamp of approval from my Alpha, I stood up from my father's chair, passed the pack without so much as a second glance, and walked up the steps to my bedroom as I closed the door behind me.

************************************************************************

I could hear the pack downstairs talking everything over. Sam was still pissed, but he told them he would keep his mouth shut for now. Seth was worried about mom finding out. It was enough for her to find out that _both_ of her children were wolves, but now that one of them had imprinted on a vampire would surely not be good. Quil and Embry were being Quil and Embry; they were both joking around with Seth about why I had come home smelling like a vampire. Those two had incredibly dirty minds. Paul stayed pretty quiet which was a surprise to me, because Paul usually never shuts up. Jake was the one to remind everyone that I could most likely hear everything they were saying. One by one, they said goonight to Seth and left for the evening.

I waited until the house was silent and Seth had gone into his room before I hopped out of my clothes and into the shower. I let the water glide over my body and the steam fill my lungs. I was in the middle of washing my hair when I realized this had been my first "real" shower in weeks. We had been patrolling the Cullen's place for so long while Bella was pregnant. I got really excited when I thought about sinking into my sheets. For once, I was excited to go to sleep. In the past, I would wake up in a cold sweat reaching for Sam. I was looking forward to dreaming of Alec, _my_ Alec. I turned off the water and wrapped myself in a towel. I decided to towel dry my hair a bit and get into bed naked, I had gotten so used to being in my wolf form and not wearing clothes I didn't want to feel constricted. After my hair was somewhat dry, I brushed through my now shoulder length black locks as I looked into my mirror. I missed my long hair. I cut it when I first started to phase because I didn't want to stick out from the pack anymore than I already did. I was looking forward to it growing back to its original length. I finished with my hair, turned off my light, and got into bed. I had kicked the covers off, but kept the covers over me for good measure. It was a good thing I had because just as I started to drift off to sleep, I heard my window creek open.

**Uh ohhhhhh, who's at Leah's window in the middle of the night? You will just have to wait for the next chapter to find out. Sorry for the cliff hanger… Okay, well… I'm not THAT sorry lol. PLEASE R&R**


	5. For a Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic

**I do not own Twilight or the characters**

**but I do tell them what to do from time to time!**

**Leah's POV**

For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic 

Needless to say I was beyond freaked out. I sat up in the bed and wrapped the sheet around me to cover myself up. I wasn't so much worried that I wasn't safe…I mean, come on, I could take care of myself but I was caught off guard. The window was across the room from my bed and as it opened it, I took a quick sniff in the air to see if the scent was familiar. I was sure it wasn't going to be Alec because there was no way he would have picked up my scent after so long. As the intruder raised his head, the familiar scent smacked me in the face.

"Sam, what the hell are you doing up here?" I didn't want to talk too loudly. I knew Seth could probably hear us anyways, but I didn't want to chance my mom hearing him. I wasn't sure if she was home or not; she had been spending nights at Charlie's since Seth and I had been running patrols for the Cullens. She said she felt safer there, but we all knew very well what they were doing.

"Leah, don't be angry with me, I just needed to talk to you." Sam hadn't climbed through my window in the longest time. The last time he did was the night he took my virginity. That was quite some time ago. Little did I know that the very next day my cousin Emily would come to visit and he would imprint on her. So much for the perfect first time, huh?

"Sam, we have been through this. Besides, you have had your chance to talk to me and you decided to yell instead. Now you show up here climbing through my window at all hours of the night. What if someone saw you? What if they told Emily? What would she think, Sam?"

"Pipe down, Leah, Emily was the one who told me to come talk to you." Sam closed the window behind him and walked across the room to sit on the edge of my bed. He looked at me and cleared his throat. I had forgotten that I had chosen to sleep naked and my bed sheet wasn't leaving much to the imagination. I grabbed my robe from the chair next to me bed and covered myself.

"What do you want, Sam, and why couldn't you just wait until tomorrow to talk to me?" Sam looked down at his hands and he started cracking his knuckles.

"Leah, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. After I left here, I was mad. Actually, I was pissed. When I got home to Emily, she knew something was wrong. I didn't want to tell her at first because I didn't know how she would react. Not to the fact that you imprinted or _who_ you imprinted on, but the fact that I was so upset about it. After I told her about it, she made me come here tonight. I am going to be honest with you Leah…a big part of why I am upset is because Alec is dangerous. I am sorry, but he can't be trusted. The second reason is because a part of me is hurt because of the things you said tonight. Leah, you have to understand that I never meant to hurt you. I know that me imprinting on Emily broke you. I know that. I also know that the way in which it happened wasn't easy for you, either. If I had known all of this was going to happen, I wouldn't have made love to you that night. Not that I didn't want to, but I know you probably wouldn't have been so hurt after we broke up.

I was speechless. I knew Sam felt bad, he told me he never meant to hurt me. I could hear it in his thoughts all the time. I never thought the reason he was so against me and Alec was because he was hurt. I didn't want to hurt Sam, as much as he hurt me in the past, I couldn't hurt him.

Leah, what I am trying to say is…I may not be _in_ love with you, but I never stopped loving you. I still love you, but not in the way that you want, well the way you _used_ to want. I came up here tonight to tell you that. I wanted you to know that I still care about you, Leah. I need you to see that I would never hurt you on purpose."

"Sam, I know you never meant for any of this to happen, but it did. It did happen and we can't take it back. I'm not angry with you Sam. I'm okay, for once I'm okay. I know you're sorry for how things happened, but we have to move forward now. You have Emily and now I can honestly say that I am happy for the two of you. I know she means the world to you and vice versa. I have Alec, and while things are mess right now, it will all work out for the better. Sam, I need you to promise me something, can you do that for me?" Sam looked up from his hands and into my eyes.

"Leah, I will do whatever you ask. I just need to know that we are okay. I'm tired of fighting with you."

"Sam, I need you to promise me to let this go. Let the past stay in the past and let's run on full speed, head first for the future. I know I'm usually a pessimist, but I am trying to be more of an optimist, starting now. If you can promise me this, then we will be fine." Sam didn't say a word. I could tell he was searching my face for some sign of the old Leah that would have only seen the down side of things. When he couldn't find her, he smiled at me and took in a deep breath of air.

"It's a deal." That was all he said, we smiled at each other and Sam gave me a hug for the first time since we broke up.

"Uh, Sam, I'm kind of not in the best attire for hugs, so maybe we can hug it out tomorrow."

"OH. Uh, yeah, sorry." We both just about fell over laughing and I heard Seth bang on the wall that separated our rooms.

"Uh, now that you too have spilled your guts and hugged it out, could you please SHUT THE HELL UP SO I CAN GET SOME SLEEP?!" Without missing a beat, Sam and I both screamed through the wall.

"SHUT UP, SETH!" Sam kissed me on my forehead and jumped off of the bed.

"Well, I'm gonna get back to the house. Emily will be dying to know how it all went." Sam climbed out of the window and before he closed it, he peeked his head back in. "Oh, by the way, you smell MUCH better than you did earlier. Get that vamp of yours some cologne, will ya?"

I picked up one of my pillows and with a smile on my face I tossed it at the window as it slammed shut. I threw off my robe and lay back down on the bed. God, what a day. Before I knew it, I was asleep and the golden eyes from my thoughts earlier in the evening filled my head.

**Okay everyone, I know this chapter was pretty short but trust me, as the story build the chapters will be MUCH longer! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I felt like someone needed to shed a little light on Leah and Sam's relationship before he imprinted on Emily. I will continue to fill you all in later on, I wanted Leah to have some closer when it came to her and Sam's relationship. I also want her to grown as a person little by little in each chapter, but don't worry she will still be sassy and tough! PLEASE R&R!! **


	6. Penny's from Heaven

**I do not own Twilight or the charactersbut I do tell them what to do from time to time!**

**Okay, So after posting my last chapter I received a lot of request for an Alec POV. At the time I wasn't sure how that would flow or even if I wanted his POV in the story at all. Then I had a mind flood of all kinds of ideas if I were to have an Alec POV chapter. So… here it is I hope you enjoy!**

**Alec's POV**

Penny's from Heaven

"Ugh. Shoot me in the head."Not that it would do much good, seeing as I am already dead. It hadn't even been a full day since I had to leave Leah on that mountain top. _Leah, God that's a beautiful name, and God is she beautiful_. I have never seen anyone like her in all my years on this earth, she is absolutely breath taking. Even as a wolf, she is the most wonderful shade of grey, and as a human, let's just say at times it was hard to keep my eyes on her face. She is perfect. Her copper skin is so warm, and the first time I touched her, I swear my heart starting beating again. Her eyes reminded me of my mother's; big and brown. Her hair was a beautiful shade of jet black and it was so shiny. Her body was…

"Cool it, Alec. You're going to lose your mind if you don't stop obsessing. It's only a month, you can make it." I was pacing back and forth in my study, kicking stray books that were sprawled along the floor. I couldn't stop myself, all I could think about was Leah, and that was not a good thing. After I left her, it didn't take me long to catch up with the rest of my family. I was sure they would sense something was wrong with me, so I tried to keep calm, but I don't think I pulled it off too well.

When we got back to Volterra, I went straight to my room. I had to keep out of arms reach of Aro or it would all be over before it even began. One wrong brush of his hand or even if I bumped into him, everything could be ruined. Jane wasn't any better. She was my twin. She could sense something was wrong…she kept giving me these odd looks during our nightly game of chess this evening. I was praying she wouldn't ask me any questions about why I stayed behind. I had told everyone that I wanted to double back and make sure the Cullens and their friends weren't up to anything. I insisted on going alone which was rare for me because Jane is usually always by my side. It was at times like these that I wished I could sleep. I needed to get away from it all, and most importantly, I wanted to dream about Leah.

We didn't get to spend too much time together, but the time we had was magical. I have never felt so whole in my entire life. Not even when I was human had I ever felt this complete. I have to admit it is a wonderful feeling to have a purpose again. I needed to be with Leah, and soon. Just to hear her voice would be enough for now…the distance between us was almost too much to bear.

_I have to get out of here._

I decided to go for a walk through the city. It was late at night, so I could get away with going out in regular street clothes and leave my cloak behind. It would be a nice change to look like everyone else in society. I used the secret exit behind the wall of my study that lead to my room. We guards all lived in pretty close quarters and I didn't want to chance running into anyone. I lived at the far end of the corridor and Jane's room was right next to mine. Demetri and Felix's rooms were a little ways down the hall across from each other, and Heidi and Renata's rooms were also across from each other at the end of the hall. Chelsea and Afton were down the next corridor, and seeing as they were recently married, none of us wanted to endure the "honeymoon" phase they were going through. Corin and Santiago have their own rooms in the corridor across from Chelsea's. Although Santiago rarely stays in his room, he and Jane have been seeing each other for almost a year and much to my dismay, their relationship has recently become physical. Thank God I can use my power to make them speechless when they get too loud at night.

Once I reached my room, I wiggled out of the grey sweat pants I was wearing and pulled on some blue jeans and a long sleeve black thermal shirt. I peeked my head out of the door and into the hallway. I figured everyone was in their room or out in the courtyard. On nights like these, Volterra is beautiful and we sometimes like to sit outside and enjoy the weather. I got lucky and made it all the way to the elevator that led up and out of the underground castle when I was stopped dead in my tracks.

"Good evening Alec, where are you off to this time of night?" Marcus ran into me right as the elevator door was opening. _I should have taken the stairs._ Out of everyone to run into, I guess Marcus wasn't the worst. It could have been Aro, or Jane.

"Marcus, hi, um, I was going to go out for a walk through the city. Are you off to your room?" I was trying to keep him moving so he wouldn't get suspicious. Aro, Marcus, and Caius each had their own wings of our home to themselves. I was hoping Marcus would leave me alone, but seeing as he was the only single leader we had, he was usually very lonely.

"Actually, I was about to go for a walk as well. Care to join me?"

_Perfect._

"Sure, let's go." Usually I wouldn't mind going on walks with Marcus. He was a kind man, very lonely though. He wasn't always this lonely; he had a wife at one point, Aro's sister Didyme. She was killed and Marcus hasn't been the same since. I still don't know what happened to her. No one is allowed to discuss it. We made our way out of the castle and into the alleyway that lead to the city. The moon was full and it shone bright above us. The air was clean and crisp. It awakened every one of my senses. Marcus and I started our walk toward the middle of the city and we were pleased that there were no humans out and about. I think we both wanted to enjoy the walk without being tempted by our thirst. We were going at a good pace and we were about a mile away from home when our simple conversation about the weather changed abruptly.

"So, when will you be leaving us again, my son?" I tripped over my own two feet when Marcus spoke. I wasn't sure what to say to him. Did he know about me and Leah? How would he if he did? I decided to try my best and play stupid.

"What do you mean Marcus? I'm not going anywhere." Marcus turned to me and the look on his face was calm and collected.

"Alec, I know about you and the wolf. I knew about it the moment it happened. I saw it happen. How could you think I wouldn't know? The moment the two of you attached yourselves to each other, I knew there would be no separating you. Why do you think I was so quick to grant you permission to go back and "check" on the Cullens? I knew you were going back to find her. So I ask you again, when will you be leaving us to go back to Forks?"

I was speechless. I hadn't thought about his ability to sense people's relationships. When Leah imprinted on me, he saw it happen, he felt it happen. What I didn't understand was why he hadn't told Aro and the others. What did he want from me?

"You know, you've know the entire time, Marcus. Please, you must believe me when I tell you we didn't ask for this to happen. Leah…her name is Leah by the way, we were both shocked and scared when it happened. I can't even explain it. One minute I was strategizing ways to get around Bella's shield and kill every single one of them. Then I looked across the field and our eyes locked. It wasn't even intentional. I didn't even mean to look at her, but I did. At that moment, everything changed. I couldn't stop looking into her eyes. It's like I had tunnel vision, nothing else mattered. Then my entire focus switched. I was going back and forth trying to understand why I felt such a strong pull to this wolf. Then my mind would flip to which member of the guard I would have to kill if the war really happened and one of them tried to hurt her. I even thought about killing Jane, my own sister. I have never felt anything so powerful in my life, Marcus. Now I can't even be with her, she is so far away from me and I am dying all over again."

Marcus had the most pained look on his face as I spoke to him about my love for Leah. I couldn't help but think about his love for Didyme. I knew he missed her and he longed for the love I have for Leah.

"Alec, you must gather yourself and prepare for what is to come. I am not going to tell the others, but it is only a matter of time before they find out. You can't run from Aro forever, and Jane is your twin. She will see the change in you, that is if she hasn't already. Listen to me, I know it is hard. All you want is to be with Leah and hold her in your arms, I know how that feels. The only difference is I will never hold my sweet Didyme again. You and Leah still have a chance. But I have to wonder how this is going to work? Surely her pack will forbid the two of you to be together since you are a member of the guard and you wanted to kill them. As for the Cullens, I know Carlisle is a fair man, but he too has his family to worry about. You are not like them Alec. You are a natural killer; you do not live like they do amongst humans. From what I understand, Leah and her pack agree with the Cullens. They feel that making humans a source of food is murder. Are you willing to change who you are so the two of you can be together?"

Marcus was right, I hadn't thought about how my "diet" would affect mine and Leah's relationship. Was I willing to become what the Cullens called a "vegetarian" to be with Leah?

"You're right, Marcus, I hadn't thought about that. I guess that is something that I need to contemplate, and as for the rest of the family, I don't know what to do. I doubt Aro and Caius will let me go. I have to be honest with you Marcus, I feel trapped. I have been feeling this way for some time, but I just chose to keep it to myself. When Jane and I first came to the Volturi, we were excited, mainly to have a family that accepted us. Now she has found Santiago and I feel our relationship slipping. I'm sure you have felt that. I want to leave, Marcus, I do, but I don't know how to do it without a fight. Even with my power I know it would be a fight I would not win. I think the scariest part about the whole situation would be my sister either fighting with me, or against me?"

"Alec, that is something to also be pondered. I can tell you this, if there is a war, I will fight on your side. I feel as trapped as you do, and personally, I am tired of being a prisoner in my own home. I can't tell you how badly I wanted to stay in Forks with my good friend Carlisle and learn to live the way he does. I see his family and how much love they have for one another. It makes me realize that the Volturi are not a family. We are all prisoners, too afraid to stand up and walk away. I feel the strain when Chelsea is not around. In reality, she is the only thing holding us all together. Alec, if you want to go, I will go with you, but we will also have to be ready to fight our way out. So, I ask you again, when will you be leaving us?"

I stood in the center of the dark, beautiful city, dumbfounded. I looked around at the tall and beautiful buildings. The moonlight was giving everything it touched a slivery glow and I could hear a fountain in the distance. Of all the times I had taken walks with Marcus, he never once expressed his desire to be free from the Volturi. All this time, I thought I was the only one. It felt good to know I was not alone. I also knew this would turn into a war. They would not let us go without a fight and it was up to us to figure out a way to win. First, I had to see Leah, I needed to be with her. A month was way too long to stay away, but I knew if I went back any sooner, Aro and the others would get suspicious.

"One month from now, I am going back to Forks." Marcus smiled at me and put his hand on my shoulder.

"One month it is. In three weeks, I will suggest to Aro that he should send you and you only to Forks to check in on the Cullens. I will take care of everything. All you have to do is stay calm and play your part. Can you do that, Alec?"

I couldn't believe he was helping me. I was sure this would all be over the minute I admitted to him that I was in love with a werewolf. I had never before doubted that there was a higher power. Though, on this night with the heavens as clear as the sea above me, I knew that a God did exist. He was just above my head and he sent down a blessing in the form of Marcus."Yes, Marcus, I can play my part. I guess now I'm not the only person who needs to stay out of Aro's reach."

"HAHA, you are quite right about that, my son, quite right."

We walked back to the underground castle that had become our prison and Leah was the only thing on my mind. The clock tower struck at 12:00 a.m. and I wondered what she was doing. We had only been separated for almost fourteen hours and I was a wreck. I figured it was around 9:00 a.m. in Forks. _I wonder what she is up to, or if she has even gotten out of bed yet. I hope she is thinking of me._I took a final glance at the silent city, took a deep breath and entered the castle with Marcus at my side.

**Okay, so there it is Alec's POV, I really enjoyed writing in his POV, I still have some ideas for his POV that I didn't put in this chapter b/c it would have been too much for one chapter. So, that means I will have to do another chapter in his POV soon! PLEASE R&R, I really want to know how you all like his POV.**


	7. All That I've Got

**I do not own Twilight or the characters**

**but I do tell them what to do from time to time!**

**Leah's POV**

**Note: I have not changed Nessie's Gift of sharing her memories and thoughts with people. I figured if she can share her thoughts she should also be able to share daydreams, because they are thoughts. I wanted to give you all that bit of info before you read the chapter. Now that you have this bit of info, enjoy!**

All That I've Got

I woke up the next morning feeling rested. I was able to open my eyes without hyperventilating and a cold sweat soaking me. I had the most wonderful dreams of Alec and the mountain top where we shared our first kiss. I dreamed of the next time we would meet and the plans I hope to share with him.

The first step of my plan was done. I got the pack to understand that I wasn't going to give him up, and they had my back. Also, Sam and I were finally going to move our friendship forward. I am looking forward to his wedding to Emily and for the first time, I am actually excited to be in the wedding party. Now I had to strategize. I was going to go talk with Carlisle and the rest of his family today about helping me with Alec and his "eating" habits. I was not looking forward to this conversation. I knew it would be a long shot, but I had a few things on my side. One, Dr. Cullen is a very fair man. I know he will listen to what I have to say and carefully consider it. Two, his wife Esme has a soft spot of some kind for mine and Alec's relationship. Yesterday in the forest after the _almost_ war, Esme cried as I poured my feelings out to Sam. Well, she didn't cry per say, more like dry sobbing since vampires can't cry. On the other hand, the obstacles standing in my way were more than obstacles, more like boulders. First off, the Cullens would probably not be very keen on helping me with Alec considering the fact he had tried to kill them in the past. Not to mention, Alice would not be able to see the outcome of this situation because I'm a wolf and she can't see my future, and if my future includes Alec, she can't see his either. I knew most of the Cullens would go along with Dr. Cullen, seeing as he is the head of their family. I knew Emmett would be up for it since he was always up for a challenge. Alice and Jasper would side together, as would Bella and Edward. Edward would do whatever Carlisle thought was best. Rosalie on the other hand, was going to be my biggest pain in the butt. Rosalie did not like my pack and she made that very clear. She definitely doesn't like Alec, which I can't say I blame her for. All I can say is they better keep her away from me because I can sense that this is not going to go well.

I took a deep breath and crawled out of bed. I walked across the room to my window to see if my mom's car was outside. I hadn't heard her come in last night, so I figured she stayed with Charlie again. I was right about that because her car was nowhere to be found. It was still pretty early, but seeing as how the Cullen clan didn't sleep, I didn't think there was such a thing as _too_ early for them. I quickly brushed my teeth and splashed some water on my face. I went to my dresser drawer and pulled out a baby pink tank top and a pair of knee length green sweat pants. I didn't bother to do too much to my hair because I was going to run to the Cullen's house in wolf form and it would be pointless to do anything to it, so I ran a brush through it and headed for the door.

I walked out of the house and headed for the forest. Once I knew I couldn't be seen, I stripped out of my clothes and tied them to my left calf for safe keeping. Then the tingles started; I could feel them shoot up my spine and practically explode out of my eye sockets. Next came the shaking; the muscles in my arms and legs started to contract and contort and the hair on my arms started to rise up. I had gotten used to phases now, and out of all of the pack, excluding Sam and Jake, I could phase the fastest and with some grace. I used to think when I phased I was leaving a part of me on the forest floor, now I felt differently about it. I realized that this gift brought me to Alec. If I couldn't do this, I would have never found him. The fire hit me next and like a crescendo of a mass choir, I burst from my copper skin and emerged as a beautiful gray wolf.

The run to the Cullen's was quick. I was the fastest out of my pack, except for Jake, and running was my favorite part of being wolf. I was surprised that my mind was clear on my run. I guess the rest of the guys were still getting some much needed rest. I reached the edge of the forest that opened up to the Cullen's house and I hung back a bit so I could phase back and put my clothes on. The forest was pretty quiet. The only sounds I could hear were coming from the house. I could hear someone walking up the steps, and from the pattern of the steps, it was either Alice or Nessie. I say one of the two of them because the pattern was skipping. Alice never did anything normally and Nessie was just a little girl who was full of energy. I could also hear the piano that sat in the family room. I noticed the tune being played; it was a beautiful arrangement of "It Never Entered My Mind" by Miles Davis. It was one of my dad's favorites. This was different for me though. I was used to hearing this song played on the trumpet, but the piano was a nice change. I figured it was Edward playing, so I thought everyone was in the main house. I took a deep breath and walked toward the front door. I was sure they knew I was coming. Edward was probably listening to my thoughts by now and I'm sure they could smell me. I never understood what it was about our two species that made us smell bad to one another.

"Carlisle is still trying to figure that one out." Yep, he was definitely listening to my thoughts. I could hear Edward address me from the front porch. He didn't stop playing the song, he simply invited me in.

"Come in Leah, the door is open, as I am sure you know." I opened the door to the house and took a second to peek my head in. "Uh, hi Edward, I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" I was more nervous than I thought I would be. I made sure not to think specifically about what I was doing at their house. I wanted to wait for Carlisle before I spilled my guts and asked for their help. Edward looked up from his piano and he looked a little perturbed."No, you're not interrupting. I was just wondering why you are here and blocking your thoughts from me?" That was the thing about Edward that always got to me. He had this way of getting past all the crap and going in for the kill but he could still be a complete gentleman about it. I don't get it, why was he so nice _all_ of the time?

Before I could answer him, Carlisle and Esme came in from the kitchen hand in hand and smiling from ear to ear. I couldn't have been more excited to see the him, I wanted to talk to him first and then have him resent it to the rest of the family.

"Oh, good morning, Leah. This is a surprise. We weren't expecting to see you so soon. Please, come in and have a seat." Esme was so sweet. She reminded me of my mother so much at times. I am still trying to figure out how a vampire can be so loving and welcoming...I couldn't help but like her.

"Good morning Esme, Carlisle, thank you. Actually, I was hoping I could have a word with you, Carlisle, in private if you don't mind?" I was so nervous. Edward had stopped playing the piano by now and one by one the other Cullens came into the living room. Rosalie and Bella came down the steps with Nessie, and Jasper and Emmett came from the garage.

"Leah, I have missed you!" Nessie jumped out of Bella's arms and came running toward me at vampire speed. I caught her as she leapt into my arms. It is funny how fast she grew on me. I was so angry that we had to fight against the Volturi because of her, and now if it weren't for her, I would still be alone. I guess life really is a circle. I scooped her up and gave her a big hug. She hadn't grown that much since I saw her yesterday morning and that was a good thing. She was so cute this size...I didn't want to miss out on play time with her.

"Hey, Nessie, how are you?" Nessie was excited to see that I was finally comfortable with her and she smiled at me. Her white teeth were gleaming and almost blinding, her blonde curls were swinging from side to side and her brown eyes were as big as saucers. She placed her hands on each side of my cheeks and showed me her day so far. It was still pretty early and already the child had read three books by Jane Austin and learned her times tables. Ness had never used her powers on me before and I had to admit, it was breathtaking. The power that someone so small held literally in the palm of her hands was magical. I heard Edward chuckle behind me, no doubt listening to my thoughts.

"Nessie, get down. You just took a bath and we don't want you smelling anymore like a dog than necessary, especially now that Jacob is always around." Rosalie was standing at the foot of the steps with a stuck up look on her face. "Rose, be nice. Leah is our guest and we are happy to have her." Esme stepped in and it was a good thing she did because I was about to tell Blondie where she could put those four inch heels she was wearing.

"I'm going out. I can't stand the _smell_ that is lingering in the house." True to form, Emmett followed her out with a grin on his face. "Nice seeing you, Leah."

"Hi, Leah, it was nice of you to stop by. How is everything? You know, the last time we saw you, you were chasing after Alec." I could tell Bella was trying to be friendly but she was also worried that I was endangering her family. Alice skipped over and wrapped her arm around Bella. "Come on Ness, let's go play a game with your mom and uncle Jasper." Nessie squealed and jumped out of my arms and onto the floor.

"Um, Leah, shall we head up to my office so we can talk? Edward..." Carlisle gave Edward a knowing look probably asking him not to listen into our thoughts. I sure hoped he listened. Esme sat next to Edward on the piano bench and the song changed into a beautiful lullaby. Esme's face lit up and she laid her head on Edward's shoulder as he played. I followed Carlisle up the steps and into his office. I was in awe at all of the books that lined three of the four walls. There was also a large wall of paintings and pictures, without a doubt photos and painting he had collected over the years. I wasn't sure how old Carlisle was or any of the Cullens for that matter. But judging by these pictures Dr. Cullen was damn near ancient.

"Please, Leah, have a seat." Carlisle sat behind his desk and motioned for me to sit in the chair opposite of him. I quickly sat down and gathered the words in my head. I wanted this to come out just right.

"So, Leah, how can I help you?" Carlisle sat forward in his chair and rested his arms on the desk.

"Well, Dr. Cullen…"

"Carlisle, please, call me Carlisle."

"Oh, right, Carlisle. Well as you know, yesterday during the meeting in the field, I imprinted on Alec. Now, I know this is not something that is accepted, seeing as how he was here to kill your family as well as mine. But when I ran off yesterday, I found him. We had a long talk and he understands what is going on and what my imprinting on him means. He is wonderful, Carlisle, really wonderful. He is full of spirit and he's a wonderful man. We spoke about his current situation and he is not happy. He has not told his sister or the rest of his family about our meeting. He told them to go on ahead without him. He is with them now, but he is coming back in one month. Listen, I know this is a long shot, but after speaking with my pack last night, I came up with an idea. You see, Alec wants to leave the Volturi. He does not want to be a member of their guard anymore. He only stays because of his sister and the fact that Aro saved their lives."

Carlisle had a look of confusion on his face which was very rare for him. I could see him trying to piece everything together in his head.

"Leah, I understand that you have imprinted on Alec. I also understand that the two of you have a bond that cannot be broken, but what I am confused about it how _I _can help you." I decided to stop being so proper and spit it out.

"Carlisle I know this is a long shot and you and your family probably hate Alec, hell you probably hate me. I have not been very kind to you all. But what I am trying to ask is, if Alec agrees to it, will you teach him how to be like you and your family. I know what I am asking you and I know that this sounds crazy but, I can't be with a killer, Carlisle. I know Alec would try it. He wants to be with me. I haven't told him this part of my plan yet, but I know he will try. Please Carlisle?" There it was. It was all out on the table. Carlisle's mouth was hanging open and he was obviously in shock. He quickly recovered and ran his fingers through his perfectly placed blonde hair.

"Um, Leah, I commend you for coming to me with this request of yours, but I am afraid this is not just a decision for me to make. My family will also have a say in this. With that said, becoming a "vegetarian" takes a great deal of strength and discipline. Alec has been a, how should I say, "old fashioned" vampire for some time now. It is going to take a lot of work for him to control his thirst. I guess what I am trying to say is, we need to discuss this with the family first. Let us go down stairs and I will call a meeting."

"Thank you Carlisle, I understand. I figured it would come to this, I just hope everyone will listen to what I have to say." I followed Carlisle out of his office and back down the steps. He showed me into the kitchen and I decided to let my mind pour free. I didn't have the strength to keep up a wall right now. Edward abruptly stopped playing the piano and I could hear him scream from the other room.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT! I WILL NOT STAND FOR IT, CARLISLE. SHE IS CRAZY IF SHE THINKS I AM GOING TO LET HIM COME AROUND MY FAMILY!!"

"Edward, please calm down. This will be a family decision. We all need to sit down with Leah and discuss this."

"Carlisle, what is going on?" Esme sounded worried as usual and one by one, once again I heard everyone enter the living room.

"Everyone, let's go into the kitchen. Leah needs to speak with us as a family."

"Oh, God, I am not in the mood for this Carlisle. Really, it's bad enough we have to deal with that dog Jacob, and now her too. We are going to have to spray the entire house down with bleach."

"Rosalie, if I hear you speak like that one more time about our guest, you will be sorry. I am warning you, do you understand?" Wow, I have never heard Esme so stern before. I could see that the blonde had respect for Esme and Carlisle, more so than for anyone else. At least she listened to someone.

All of the Cullens walked into the kitchen and sat down at the huge glass table. I stood by the stove to make sure there were enough seats for them. Bella sat next to a pissed off Edward and she was holding Nessie in her lap. Carlisle sat at the end of the table closest to me with Esme at his side. Blondie sat at the farthest end of the table and Emmett sat next to her. When Jasper and Alice sat down, I immediately felt relief wash over me. Jasper was working his magic and that was a good thing.

"Leah dear, what is this all about?" Esme was so kind I couldn't help but smile at her before I began. Just as I was about to speak, Edward cut me off and at Vampire speed, he filled everyone in on my plan. So much for testifying on your own behalf.

"ARE YOU CRAZY? HE IS NOT COMING INTO THIS HOUSE. I WILL LEAVE BEFORE I SEE HIM STEP FOOT IN MY HOME. CARLISLE, YOU CAN'T REALLY BE CONSIDERING THIS?!?!" True to form, Rosalie was the first person to interject, like I thought she was not going to agree to this.

"Wait, you mean to tell me that Leah wants Alec to come here to Forks and become a vegetarian? The man just tried to kill us. Imprint or not, I am not going to put my child in danger. I am sorry Leah, but you will have to find another way." Bella along with Rosalie and Edward makes three votes against me. I still hadn't said a word. These vamps never seem to shut up.

"Oh, come on guys, this could be fun. Besides, we've got Bella's shield. If he tries anything, we can take him out. No offense, Leah, but my family does come first." Just as I suspected, with a big smile, Emmett was a vote on my side, even after Rosalie smacked him in the back of the head. He just shrugged it off. Esme was whispering to Carlisle but it was too fast for me to catch what she was saying. Alice had her hands on her head trying to see the outcome, but it didn't look like she was getting anywhere. Jasper was picking up on my anxiety and he tried to calm my nerves. It wasn't working, so he calmed everyone else instead. I took this as my chance to speak.

"Listen, I know you all must think I am crazy for asking you to do this, but I have no other options. Alec wants to change. He hates the Volturi, he told me himself. I know he will be willing to give this a try, he is a strong man. I know you feel threatened because of his last visit, but let's not forget he was here to ill _my_ family, too. I have talked this over with the pack and even though some of them are not happy about this, they know how I feel. Bella, you have to understand, you would have done anything to be with Edward. Well, Alec and I are trying to do whatever _we_ can to stay together. The bottom line is, I can't be with a killer. He wants to change and I know he is strong enough to do this." I moved closer to the table and I could feel my face getting red and my eyes were starting to fill with tears. I never realized until just now how much I've had to defend my love for Alec in the past two days. "I can't change this and I can't take it back. When Jasper came to your family, you taught him how to live like you…""Yes, but Jasper didn't try to kill our family, either…" Rosalie spat back at me.

"Didn't he? I'm sorry to bring this up, but I distinctly remember Jake telling me that a few years back he snapped at Bella and tried to kill her. And you yourself, Rosalie, tried to attack Bella while she was in labor." That shut her up real quick. "I don't bring these events up to hurt your family, but I have to because I need you to see that everyone makes mistakes, we all do. But even after your mistakes, you have been forgiven. Bella has forgiven you both, so why can't you try and do the same thing for Alec. Please, I am giving you all I have right now. I have fought with my pack on this, tooth and nail, and if I had any other way of doing this, I would, but I need your help. Don't forget that I was standing in that field with you all yesterday morning ready to fight side by side with you for the _second_ time for your family. Can't you do this for me and the family that I might one day have? I know this is not going to be easy, and I know the Volturi will not let him go without a fight, but we will cross that bridge when we get there. Please help me. I have fought so much to be happy and now that it's at my fingertips, I can't stop reaching for it. I _won't_ stop reaching for it." I looked around the table at the faces of my so called sworn enemies as they contemplated. Like it or not, I needed them. My happiness depended on these vampires…how ironic.

The room was silent, and then out of nowhere, a tiny hand slowly made its way into the air. "Grandpa, can I talk to Leah please?" Nessie had climbed out of Bella's arms and she waited for Carlisle to respond to her request.

"Of course, Renesmee." Carlisle smiled at Ness as she walked over to me. Everyone was looking at her as I knelt down to look her in the eyes. Ness smiled at me and for the second time today, she placed her tiny hands on both sides of my face. The images that filled my head were enough to make me weak in the knees. It was a good thing I was already on the floor, or I would have fallen over. Ness filled my mind with images of me and Alec. I was in a white dress and Alec was spinning me around on a dance floor, then it switched to a scene that made the tears that had been threatening to drop from my eyes trickle down my face. There was a little boy. He had my skin tone but his skin had a soft sparkle to it like Nessie's did. His hair was jet black and he had the biggest brown eyes I had ever seen. Next to him was a little girl. She too had the same skin except her hair was a light brown and her eyes were gray. The two children were playing on the beach in La Push with Ness. They were running around and they seemed so happy.

"Leah, I hope you can be as happy as my mommy and daddy are, and I hope you and Alec can have children so we can play together. I think that would be fun. Don't you think that would be fun, Leah?" I could barely get the words out. The tears had turned into quiet sobs and I could not hold them back. How could a child so young wish for the same things that I, practically a grown woman, wanted.

"Yes, Ness, that would be wonderful. Thank you for sharing that with me, it meant a lot to me." Nessie wiped my tears and she ran to sit back in her mother's lap. I stood up to face my jury, the vote was still three to one and there were still four votes to be heard. If I have to, I will fight for this alone, but seeing as I never let them go into anything alone, why should I have to? I looked at Alice, Jasper, Carlisle, and Esme each in the eyes, and waited for them to hand me my fate.

**So, it comes down to four Cullens, what will happen, will they make this easy on Leah? Or will she have to fight even harder? We shall see. PLEASE R&R Sending some love to my Beta, sw1m4l1fe!! Love ya girl!**


	8. The Voice of Truth

**I do not own Twilight or the characters**

**but I do tell them what to do from time to time!**

**Leah's POV**

The Voice of Truth

I was never the type of girl to ask for help, definitely never been the type to beg. Today was different; I woke up with a new attitude, love in my eyes and warmth in my heart. I guess it's true when people say love can make you do crazy things. I waited patiently for the last four Cullens to vote. Esme looked as if she wanted scream, I could see Carlisle weighing the pros and cons in his head, Jasper looked pained. I could tell he was trying to get all of the emotions under control at the table. I was a mess, Rosalie looked like she wanted to rip my throat out and everyone else looked as if they were about to hand someone a death sentence. I was happy when Carlisle took a deep breath and looked up at me.

"Leah, after going over everything in my head, and trying to decipher the good from the bad, I have decided to vote yes. I would be happy to help Alec change his way of life, if he is willing and he shows us that he is serious about it."

_Oh, thank GOD, that means if Carlisle says yes, Esme will as well. _I looked over at Edward who had his hands on his temples and he was rubbing them counter clock wise. I was sure he heard my thoughts and he agreed with them. Jasper was next to vote. He looked at me and I felt a wave of calm crash over me. I only hoped this was him reassuring me that his vote was going to be yes.

"I vote no. I understand the love you and Alec share for each other, Leah, but you have to understand. For a vast majority of my existence, all I have ever known is warfare; I just don't believe that one minute you can be on one side trying to destroy your enemies, and then turn around and side with them." I couldn't look up at him to meet his eyes, I was afraid of what I might see in them. How could he be so militant about all of this? This wasn't World War II, this was my imprint, my life. Now it was all up to Alice, the small and usually hyperactive pixie was my only hope. She had her hands over her face and she was resting her elbows on the table, trying to see past me and into Alec's future no doubt.

"Leah, let me just say this. First, I am so very grateful for you and your pack standing side by side with my family in our hour of need. You all have showed great loyalty and kindness to us and I know that our presence in Forks has caused you and your pack to be the wolves that you are. I also understand that if it weren't for us, none of this would matter because you would still be happy with Sam and not standing before us asking for our help, when in reality you should want to destroy us. With that said, while I am grateful for all of those things I also have _my_ family to protect. The fact that I cannot clearly see Alec's future is an issue. I am sorry but my family is my number one priority, so I am going to have to vote no on this matter."

That was it, I was on my own. The Cullens weren't going to help and while a small part of me couldn't blame them, I couldn't help but feel betrayed. I had stood up for them and risked my life for theirs. I couldn't bring myself to say anything. The tears started to build in my eyes and before I let them see me shed another tear, I bolted for the door. I didn't know where I was going, but by the time I hit the trees, I had burst from my skin and a howl escaped from me that I was sure could be heard across the Atlantic Ocean.

************************************************************************

**Alec's POV**

I was waiting in the great hall with most of my family. It was meal time and while my throat was on fire, I was not at all in the mood to eat. I couldn't get my conversation last night with Marcus out of my head. I knew the only way I could be with Leah was if I could give up killing humans and living like the Cullens. I hadn't been able to focus on a single thing other than what my life _could_ be with Leah. The hall doors opened and the unsuspecting humans entered. The pickings were slim today seeing as how tourist season was almost over. Luckily, most of the guard had eaten the night before. So much, in fact, Santiago and Jane's eyes were a deep shade of red that I had not seen in them since they were newborns. There was a family of four with two teenage sons, a mother and a father. Standing behind them there was a group of three girls who looked terrified, and about four other men standing next to them.

"Is this a skit?" one of the boys asked. "They didn't say anything about a reenactment." The poor boy had no idea what was in store for him. Since Heidi had been changed, we hired another human girl named Sanna to take her place. She had honey brown skin and dark brown eyes. Her hair was the color of a raven and she was very friendly with the tourists. Aro decided she would make a good decoy for meal time. She stepped toward the boy and rested her hand on his shoulder.

"No worries sweetheart, this will be a _very_ interesting show." Sanna, kissed the boy on the cheek and walked out of the hall closing the doors behind her. One of the girls had a very strange look on her face. I couldn't figure it out, but it was almost like she knew something wasn't right. Aro stepped out of the center of the guard and opened his arms as to welcome them.

"Ah, welcome my friends. You have arrived just in time…" Before he could finish, the scared looking girl screamed and started back away to the door.

"RUN, RUN, GET AWAY FROM THEM NOW!!" The rest of the tourist didn't even have time to react. The guard, Aro, and Caius descended upon them like foxes on a heard of sheep. Two of the three girls were the first to go, Heidi and Caius got to them first. Aro ordered for the third girl who had warned them to be saved for last. He and the rest of the guard finished off the family and the four other boys. For some odd reason, I couldn't bring myself to feed off of them. For the first time I had no desire to drink. I knew then and there that I was prepared to change who I was to be with Leah. I sat and watched the carnage before me. My family never spilled a drop of blood, but a massacre it was indeed. The pale, drained bodies lay sprawled along the floor, some with their eyes still open. I had to admit, I felt sorry for these poor, weak, defenseless humans. The one survivor was cowering in the corner with her hands over her ears and her face buried in her knees that were pulled up to her chest. She was crying and reciting the Lord's Prayer to herself. Once everyone had their fill, Aro motioned for Demetri to bring the girl to him. He picked her up and she tried to wiggle out of his reach, but failed. She looked him in the face and stuck her chin in the air trying to muster up some courage.

"Come with me human, Aro wishes to speak with you." Demetri pulled the girl over to Aro and Caius. They both had very large grins on their faces. Aro motioned for me to come stand next to him. I had to play my part, I just needed to stay at arm's length away from him and everything would be okay. I walked across the hall and stood next to him, but kept my distance.

"Alec my son, I see you did not delight in our feast this evening. I have saved this last one for you, but before you eat, I have a question for the young lady."

I had no intentions of feeding on the human. I didn't know what to do. If I didn't eat, everyone would know something wasn't right. Aro would definitely try to read my thoughts and if I did not let him, there would be big problems. If I knew Aro, he saved this girl to see if she had any powers. He obviously saw something in her that he liked. As much as I didn't want to turn anymore humans, at least I wouldn't have to finish her.

"Of course Aro, whatever you wish." _Dear God, let this human have something of worth to offer us._

"Very well, young lady, what is your name?" The girl tossed her long platinum blonde hair out of her face and her crystal blue eyes burned into his. She was a very pretty young woman, nothing like my Leah, of course. Leah's is the kind that is reserved for goddesses that you can only read about in story books. This girl had very soft facial features, not quite angelic, but not very mature either. She couldn't have been any older than nineteen. She was tall and slender, possibly an athlete. She reminded me of the tennis player Anna Cornacova, except this girl's hair was longer. It trailed down her back and hit around her back side.

"Why do you want to know my name? I know what you are going to do to me. My fate is the same as my friends and those other tourists. So why don't you just get it over with and stop this foolishness." The girl had a slight hint of a French accent, probably from her younger years in France I presumed.

"Child, if I were you, I would do as I am told. Trust me, or your fate could be much worse than the ones you see around you." Aro warned.

"My name is Annabel, Annabel Degras."

"Ah, like the great painter. Well, Annabel, I have to ask you...how did you know you all were in danger? I must say, I have never seen a young woman like you be so aware of danger." Annabel stopped struggling with Demetri and her face tightened up at Aro's question.

"My mother always used to tell me that I was perceptive. She said I got it from my great grandmother who was a gypsy. When I was little, I could always tell when something was wrong or when something was going wrong. It doesn't happen all the time, only when extreme danger is near. Like today, I didn't want to come here, but my friends insisted. I guess now they probably wish they had listened to me. So now that you have asked your questions, why don't you just do what you came here to do so I can be at peace."

"Oh no, child. You see, there is a reason why I have kept you alive. I think your gift is a great talent and you could be of good use to us. As you can tell, I have a rather strong guard here. Alec can take all of your senses from you and his lovely sister, Jane, can make you crumble to your knees in pain. Trust me when I tell you we are very powerful. My family leads the vampire world. We make the rules and I think you could make a great addition to our family."

Chelsea had moved closer to Aro's side in case the girl said no and she needed to make the girl connect to us. It was true, Chelsea was the glue that held us all together. If she ever left, I have a feeling it would be the end of the Volturi.

"You want me to join you? You just murdered my friends in front of me and now you want me to be a member of whatever the hell you call this? You must be crazy. You call this a family. If you ask me, you're all nuts. There is no way I will join you."

Aro quickly gave Chelsea the signal and she went to work on the girl. She sent a wave to Annabel and instantly she was caught up. Chelsea had a sense of humor when it came to binding the newborns to us. Usually, she would make the females cling onto Caius because his wife Athenodora is a very jealous woman. Everyone got a kick out her having to put the newborn girls in their places when it came to her husband. This time, she made it a point to carefully bind Annabel to Sulpicia, Aro's wife. Chelsea had noticed how Annabel looked at Sulpicia when she spoke of her mother. She was probably hoping it would make the connection stronger if she reminded Annabel of her mother.

"Annabel dear, won't you join our family? This could be an amazing opportunity for you." Like a pro, Sulpicia picked up on Chelsea's game plan and moved in on Annabel. Annabel looked confused but she could not fight the feelings she _thought_ were real.

"Is it really a wonderful way to live?" Annabel asked her.

"Yes darling, it is the _only_ way to live."

"Then yes, I'm ready." I knew what I had to do. There was no way around it, I just hoped Leah would forgive me for what I was about to do. Aro turned to me and with a quick nod of his head I darted at vampire speed toward Annabel and without a second thought, I had her wrist in my mouth. I wanted to make it as painless as possible for her, so I didn't dig my teeth in deep. The pain of the venom would be excruciating enough. I didn't want to torture her too much. As I bit down, I could feel the skin of her delicate wrist brake in between my teeth. Her blood hit me quick. It was sweet and extremely warm. I could feel it race through my veins and I knew if I didn't stop then, I would finish her. I let go and the screams began. Annabel fell to her knees in agony. She lay on the floor and pulled her knees to her chest as Aro motioned for Demetri to carry her to the guard Chambers. You could hear her screaming for what felt like hours. The rest of the family went along as if it were a normal day as they waited for the venom to take its toll on her body and the transformation was complete. I found myself in Marcus's wing of the castle. I knocked on his door and he told me to enter.

"Alec, it's good to see you. I hear we have a possible new addition." Marcus was sitting behind his desk, so I sat in the chair across from him.

"Yes, her name is Annabel, though I am sure you heard everything. Nothing is a secret here." Marcus smiled at me and pulled a pen and a notebook out of his desk and he began to write.

You are quite right my son.

_So since we are on the subject of secrets, have you thought more about the Cullen way of life?_

With that question, I felt a strange jolt hit me in the pit of my stomach. It was the feeling I usually got when I thought Jane was in trouble. This time it was different, it was Leah. I wasn't sure what was wrong, but I felt the strong urge to be with her, she needed me.

_Marcus, something is wrong with Leah, I can feel it, it just hit me. I don't know what it is, but I have to go to Forks now! Can you talk to Aro for me? Tell him I went to check in on the wolves that were allied with the Cullens. I wanted to see if they had changed their minds about joining our guard._

_Of course, Alec, go. Here, take the keys to the jet. It is small enough for you to land it in the clearing in the forest. I will take care of Aro, no worries. Thank you Marcus, I will be back as soon as I can, I promise. _

I took the exit through the walls of Volterra that led to the jet. I quickly gassed it up and set the GPS maps for Forks, Washington. I had no idea what I would be flying in to, but I knew I had to get to Leah. Something wasn't right and whatever it was, she needed me. It had only been a full day since I left her. I wasn't sure where to find her, but I knew of one place I could go. I would be a fool to go there, but who isn't a fool when it comes to the one you love?

**Okaaay Folks, so there is another chapter for you, I decide to give you some of Alec and Leah in this chapter. I had a hard time trying to figure out what I wanted to happen here. My imagination has a tendency to run wild lol. Also just a quick note, even though Leah is in Forks and Alec is in Italy all of this is happening at the same time with just some time differences. Alec is a few hours behind but I'm sure you all get the idea I have smart readers lol. Well, please R&R Love yall~ Vamp **


	9. Have a Little Faith in Me

**I do not own Twilight or the characters**

**but I do tell them what to do from time to time!**

**Leah's POV**

Have a Little Faith in Me

I couldn't believe all of this was happening. The Cullens weren't going to help us. After putting my life on the line for them on more than one occasion, they still weren't going to help. I didn't know whether to be hurt or angry, all I knew was I had to get away. I wasn't sure where I was going, but I just ran. I had so many thoughts running through my head I could barely keep them in control. Because I was in wolf form, I was sure someone was bound to hear them, but if they did, no one said anything. I guess that was a good idea, seeing as how on edge I was. I slowed to look around and see where I was. I didn't want to travel to close to the edge just in case someone spotted me. I should have known I would end up at the mountain, our mountain. I was standing at the edge of the sandy rocks where Alec and I last saw each other. I sank to my hind legs and laid my chin on the ground, I couldn't help the tears. Even in wolf form, my emotions tend to get the best of me. The only thing in the world that I wanted was Alec. I needed him to be next to me, to hold me and tell me it would all work out. It's funny how you can barely know someone, but when you're together, you feel like you have been with them for an eternity. The sorrow I felt being away from him is so much stronger than what I felt for Sam. I can barely breathe when I'm not with him. I hated that we had to spend so much time apart. What was worse is that he has no idea what is going on here. He has no clue that I'm sitting here practically in pieces trying to figure out a way for us to be together. I knew loving Alec wasn't going to be easy, I just didn't think it would become so hard so soon. I pulled myself up off of the ground and made my way to the top of the mountain where we kissed for the first time I laid my down in the sun and closed my eyes. Just then I heard a voice in my head it was Jake.

"_Leah, I'm here at the Cullens they told me what happened, I'm sorry Leah. Esme wanted me to tell you she is sorry and she hopes you are okay. Where are you? They told me you ran off, are you okay?"_

_"No, Jake, I'm not okay. I… I just need some time, okay? Please tell the guys to stay out of my head. I need some time alone. Actually, could you ask Seth to bring me some clothes and leave them at the clearing? I will pick them up soon, I just need some space for now."_

_"Sure I'll call him but where are you?"_

_"Jacob, please don't ask me anymore questions. I don't want to see anyone and if I tell you, I won't have any peace."_

_"I understand. Look, I'm sorry, Leah. Really, I am, maybe there is something…"_

_"Just stop, okay?!?! "_

I hated pushing Jake away. We had gotten kind of close lately and I was so grateful to him for letting me into his pack and siding with me on this whole mess with Alec. I just needed him toback off. I completely forgot about my clothes when I left the Cullen's house. I just hope Seth doesn't stick around the clearing when I go to pick them up.

"_Leah, you're being ridiculous, all because they…" _Paul's voice was the last thing I wanted to hear.

_"DAMNIT PAUL, LEAVE ME ALONE! WHAT DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?!" _I phased without even waiting for his response, I guess I was only safe in my human form. Too bad I had to be sitting on a mountain top naked. I sure hope Seth moves quickly. I would hate to run into some random person hiking, even though they have no business being this deep into the forest. I walked around for a bit and found a good spot that had some shade. The weather today was odd, the sun was bright which was different for Forks. I sat down and laid my head back on a rock.

"What are we going to do, Alec? Right now, it seems like I can't keep my home and keep you too. You're all I want, but it seems everyone is going to make it hard for us. God, Leah, he's not even here. Stop talking to yourself."

I closed my eyes for what seemed like only a few minutes. When I woke up, it was dark. I had slept the day away and the sun had already set. I quickly phased and headed for the clearing.

"_Hey Leah, I just wanted to tell you that Seth dropped your clothes off hours ago. I guess you phased cause I could hear you, but I'm glad you're okay. Come home soon, Sue will be worried sick."_

_"Thanks Jake, I feel asleep, but I'm fine. Tell Seth to tell Mom I'm okay, please."_

_"No problem."_

I ran through the forest pretty fast and made it to the clearing in no time. I found my clothes with a bag of food sitting next to them. My little brother was always trying to take care of me, especially since Dad died. Good thing too, because I was starving. I grabbed the clothes in my teeth and ran to the edge of the forest just in case someone was around. I phased and pulled on the cut off shorts that were nearly daisy dukes since my last growth spurt. It wasn't easy finding shorts that didn't look sleazy for a girl my height. A small smile spread across my face when I saw that Seth had brought me one of dad's red and brown flannel long sleeve button ups to wear. He knew that would make me smile. I pulled the shirt on, which was still big on me and hung a little ways past my shorts. I buttoned a few of the buttons and headed back into the clearing to eat. I didn't feel like dragging the food back to the mountains. It would be too much to carry. I didn't mind sitting in the dark. My eye sight was sharp, it was almost like seeing in the daytime. I finished my food and I was just about to run back when I heard a plane that sounded like it was flying too low above me.

"WHAT THE F…"

****************************************************************************************************************************************************

**Alec's POV**

After a few hours of flying I had finally made it into Forks, the night was pretty clear which made for good flying conditions, so I didn't have to worry too much. I wasn't really sure of what I was going to do when it came to finding Leah. I didn't know what was wrong, but I could sense that something wasn't right. I figured I would pick up on the scent of the Cullens and go to them to see if they could help me find her. I knew it would be dangerous since the last time I had seen them I had tried to kill them, but at this point, they were my only hope. I guess it's true, when they say karma is a bitch, because now I needed them. I was hovering over the clearing and as I began to land I noticed there was a person standing below me. I noticed it was a female and as the wind blew her hair across her face I noticed the black silky locks.

"Leah?"

****************************************************************************************************************************************************

**Leah' POV**

I realized that what I thought was a plane was actually a helicopter. I stood in the middle of the clearing in shock. I didn't know whether I should run or wait to see who it was. I guess the big question was who would be landing in Forks, and why here. I quickly backed away so the pilot could land. The wind whipped across my face, sending my hair flying in every direction. When the air craft finally landed, my eyes were locked on the black exterior with jet black windows. The propellers finally stopped spinning and everything went quiet. I was still frozen in my place, unable to move for some odd reason. The door, which was facing away from me, opened and all I could see were two feet hit the ground. I didn't need to see the face of the pilot because his intoxicating scent smacked me in the face so hard I almost fell backwards. I was still unable to move. My eyes began to fill with tears as I closed them and whispered his name.

"Alec."

**Okay okay, I know not a nice way to end the chapter. But I have to keep you on your toes lol. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter I know it's short but I am starting the next one right now. So I will stop rambling so you all can REVIEW and I can get back to writing!! Love Ya~ Vamp**


	10. Proof

**I do not own Twilight or the characters**

**but I do tell them what to do from time to time!**

**Alec's POV**

Proof

I saw Leah standing near the edge of the forest. Her scent was surrounding me and slowly taking me hostage. I took a deep breath letting her fill all of my senses. My eyes were still closed when I heard her whisper my name.

"Alec."

A smile began to spread across my face and I stepped around the side of the helicopter. Leah was standing so still with her eyes closed, she was so beautiful, and all at once I felt complete. I walked over to her slowly and stood in front of her. I wiped the tears away that had fallen to her cheeks.

"Leah, open your eyes my love." Leah stood still, not moving and her eyes remained closed. I wasn't sure what I had interrupted or exactly how we ended up in the same place at just the right moment. All I knew was that I was standing in front of the woman I loved and that was the only place I needed to be.

"Leah, please look at me."

"I can't open my eyes." She spoke so softly that if I didn't have vampire hearing, I would have missed it.

"Why not?" I continued to search her face for answers that she couldn't give me in words, but there were none.

"I'm afraid if I open them than you won't be standing in front of me and this would all be a dream; a dream that would crush me to wake up from. I can't take that heart ache, Alec, I can't."

It was obvious to me that I had come at the right time. Something was wrong, or had _been _wrong and she needed me. The feelings I had back in Volterra were dead on. She did need me, I just hoped I wasn't too late. I leaned in toward her and cupped her warm beautiful face into my hands. I slowly leaned in and softly touched my lips to hers, for a second she did not move but finally I felt her come alive. Her lips began to move and her breathing became jagged and our kiss deepened.

************************************************************************

**Leah's POV**

_Oh dear God, don't let this be a dream, please let this man really be standing in front of me. _I wasn't sure if I was dreaming or if Alec was really standing in the middle of the clearing kissing me. All I knew was I didn't want him to stop. Dream or not, this man was mine and I needed him. I grabbed at his hair and pulled him closer. It was getting harder to breathe, but I didn't care. I didn't know how long it was going to last, so I had to make the most of it. Alec began to grip onto my shirt as he pulled me closer to him. It was almost as if we were trying to push ourselves into making one person. He broke the kiss and slowly pulled away from me.

"Leah, this is real, now open your eyes so I can see how big and beautiful they are." I could hear the smile on his face and I got enough nerve to open them. It wasn't a dream; he was really there standing in front of me just as pale and breathtaking as he was before. I took in a short breath of air as I crashed into his arms. I let the tears flow freely as I sobbed and held him tightly.

"Leah, calm down love, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." I tried to listen to him and gather myself, but it wasn't working, I needed to get it out. After a few minutes of crying and Alec holing me and stroking my hair, I was finally able to speak.

"I'm so happy you're here. I've needed you so much, words can't even describe how much I've needed you. So much has happened since you've been gone. I know it hasn't been long, but you'd be surprised how fast things move here."

"I've needed you too. I have so much to tell you. Something told me you weren't okay, so I had to come see you. I love you so much, Leah, I don't even know why I thought I would be able to stay away for a month. Two days seemed like a lifetime. I don't know if I can leave again."

Alec's words brought me back to reality and all of the obstacles we were facing just to be together. There were so many people against us that weren't willing to help. We had to make this work because there would be no way I could go on without him by my side.

"Alec, we have to talk, there is so much to tell you. But what are you doing back here so soon? How did you get away on your own?" I was so confused and overwhelmed at the same time. I was happy to have him back, but what did he do to get here?

"That's part of what I need to tell you. I had help getting here tonight. Marcus helped me. He knows about us, Leah." I stood in front of him with my mouth hanging open. I guess he _did_ have a lot to tell me.

"Wait, what do you mean Marcus knows about us? And he helped you?"

"Yes, wait, let's get out of here first. Can we go to our Mountain? I really miss it."

"Of course, we can leave the helicopter here. It will be safe. I'm going to phase really quickly and tell my brother that you're here and to look after it, okay?" I started to walk toward the forest to phase when Alec caught me by the waist.

"That's fine, but are you going to leave me without a kiss?" he had the most devilish look in his eyes, I couldn't help but blush and I felt my body rush with even more heat than it already carried.

"I'm only going into the trees to phase, I'll be right back." Alec had a small grin on his face. it was different, something I had never seen before, I couldn't help but grin back at him.

"I know, but still, I think I need another kiss just so I know you care."

"Oh so you're being coy now? Well I guess one kiss couldn't hurt." I wrapped my arms around his strong shoulders and rubbed the tip of my nose to his. Alec leaned in and kissed me so softly my heart started to pound a mile a minute. I pulled away and turned my back to him as I walked into the trees and unbuttoned my shirt. I waited until I was out of sight before I dropped my shirt and pulled off my shorts. I quickly phased and I was lucky that Seth was on patrol with Embry.

"_Seth, hey, I need you to do me a favor."_

"_Leah, hey, did you get your clothes and food? I left you one of dad's shirts...I thought it might make you feel better."_

"_Yeah little brother, I got it. And thanks, it made me smile. But listen, I need you to keep an eye out in the clearing, can you do that for me?"_

"_Yeah, but why? What's up?"_

"_Yeah, Leah, why are we patrolling the clearing?" _Embry was always so quick to jump into to other people's thoughts, but it was okay. Better him than Paul.

"_Listen, Alec came back to see me. He flew in on a helicopter and I need you to keep a look out for it. Don't ask any questions because I don't have any answers right now, but I need to know you guys will keep it safe. So will you?"_

"_Sure sis, but…"_

"_Okay, thanks. Talk to you soon." _

I phased back quickly so I wouldn't have to respond to any more questions I didn't have answers to. I quickly put my clothes back on and walked back out to Alec in the clearing.

"You ready to go?" We both had huge smiles on our faces I knew we had a lot of serious issues to discuss but neither of us could stop smiling.

"Yeah lets go, but, will you do something for me first?"

"Hmm, okay. What?" Alec had a huge grin on his face and I could tell he was up to no good.

"Hop on." He crouched down and looked up at me.

"Excuse me? I may be in my human form, but I'm the fastest in my pack. I'm sure I can keep up."

"Well, until you prove me otherwise, I would like to take you for a ride, so get on."

That was it, that was the moment I knew without a shadow of a doubt that this man was meant for me. It wasn't the fuzzy feeling that I usually got for him, or the aching in my heart when we were apart. It was the fact that if he were any other man, I would have told him to go screw himself and that I could take care of myself. But with Alec, I was practically mush, so, I climbed on. I mean come on, how often do you get to ride a vampire.

************************************************************************

Before I knew it, we were swerving in and out of trees and my hair was lost in the wind. It was so surprising. I had seen the Cullens run before, and while they looked fast, I never dreamed vampires could run this fast. It felt like we were flying. Alec had a hold of my thighs and I had my arms around his neck. I was happy he told me to climb on because while we may be just about equals in strength, he definitely had me in speed. We finally made it to the mountains and Alec carried me all the way to the top. The stars were shining bright and though it was cold out, neither of us were uncomfortable. I ran a constant temperature over 105 degrees, and Alec's skin was ice cold. It had been so long since I felt whole and happy. I knew it would end soon enough, and I wasn't sure how long we had together. We had so much to talk about, good and bad, I just didn't want to jump right into the problems. We deserved some time together just being Leah and Alec, leaving the wolf and vampire stuff on the back burner for as long as we could. When we made it to the top, I attempted to climb off of Alec's back, but his hands were still planted firmly on my thighs. It was a little odd because he wasn't moving, he was standing perfectly still like he was frozen.

"Alec? Are you okay?" In the next split second before I had time to react, Alec had spun me around so that I was facing him. My legs were still wrapped around him and his hands were now higher up on my thighs. He had a big smile on his face and my heart started pounding out of my chest. Let's face it, the man is beautiful, but this was the first time that I had ever looked at him and thought "_Damn."_ He was so undeniably sexy I was sure the butterflies in my stomach were going to fly out of my mouth. I couldn't move. He was perfect, the way the moon shone off his skin, and even though his eyes were blood red, they were still the most beautiful things I had ever seen. His hands were so strong and he had a death grip on me; he wasn't hurting me, but it's a good thing I heal quickly because I'm sure I will have his fingerprints left on me. I realized after about three minutes that I was just staring at him and I felt kind of foolish. Luckily he spoke first since I obviously had nothing to say.

"Did you like the ride?" His smile grew even bigger which I thought was virtually impossible. I still didn't have much to say. All I managed to get out was "uh huh." For the second time in one night, I found myself letting go of the control that I am so used to, and letting Alec completely take me over. A part of me liked it, actually I loved it, but the rest of me was scared because I always told myself that I would never be the type of woman that always let her man lead. I prided myself on that. I refused to be a damsel. I guess I just need to find the right balance before I lost myself completely. I finally mustered up enough in me to speak a full sentence. Alec still had me wrapped around him and it didn't seem like he would be moving anytime soon.

"So are you going to let me down, or are you going to hold me like this all night?"

"MMMM, I think I might just hold you like this all night, it's not like I'm going to get tired. Besides, how often do I get to hold you? This is a very rare occasion."

"This is very true, but I don't want my legs to fall asleep, so I think you should put me down, dear. Besides, we have all night for you to hold me, remember? And I want to be on my feet the next time you decide to flip me around like a pancake."

"Haha, sorry. I hope it didn't scare you, I just wanted to see your face, but I didn't want you to release me from these beautiful legs of yours, so I made a snap decision."

"Are you flirting with me Alec?" I couldn't help but smile. This man was all I ever wanted; sweet, sexy, and he had a sense of humor. I don't think I could have asked for more.

"Is it working, Leah?"

He laid his forehead to mine and the contact was electric. If we had so much chemistry now, I couldn't even imagine what it's going to be like when we make love for the first time. Nothing short of fireworks, I hope. Not that I have much to compare him to, I had only had sex once in my life with Sam and he imprinted on my cousin the very next day. So much for a memorable first time. I wasn't sure if Alec had ever been with a woman before. It's obvious we still had much to talk about and I didn't want to wait any longer.

"I guess it's working. I mean you're no James Dean or anything."

Alec raised his eyebrows at my obvious joke and I had the sense he wasn't going to let me get away with it. Only he didn't have a slick come back. He got me back the one way he knew would leave me speechless; he kissed me. My hands moved from around his neck to his shoulders and I began to claw at his black shirt. His hands slid from my thighs up to my back side, his fingers leaving an icy cold trail everywhere they went. It didn't last long because as soon as he moved a hand, my skin instantly caught fire. Then, I felt something that I hadn't felt in so long, a chill shot up my spine. Since I became a wolf, my body had become immune to the cold, so I knew it wasn't Alec's body temperature that hit me, but the sheer thrill of my lips pressed against his. I had to pull myself away from him if I was going to keep my composure and keep my clothes on as well. When our lips finally parted, once again, Alec emerged with a coy smile on his face.

"So, is my flirting working _now, _Leah?"

_Smart Ass, God I love him._ "I suppose, but don't get cocky."

"Haha, I'll try not to." Alec put me down gently, but kept his hands on my hips, while I wrapped my arms around his waist.

"This is a very good look on you, you know. I like the short shorts and oversized flannel shirt."

"So I see you're full of jokes, huh?" I playfully pushed him away and took a step back.

"Nooo, I'm serious, I think you look sexy."

"Thanks… the shirt was my dad's. It was one of his favorites."

"Right, your dad died a few years ago, right?" The conversation had taken a semi serious tone but it didn't bother me. After all, if I was going to be with him, he deserved to know everything about me.

"Yeah, he died of a heart attack when I was seventeen, but it's okay now. It took me a while to accept it, but I got through it…_we _got through it."

"_We_, you mean your family? We never got to discuss your family on my last visit." Alec took my hand and we began to stroll along the mountain I knew I was going to have to talk about my dad soon, so I guess there was no better time than the present.

"Well, as you know I have a younger brother whose name is Seth. He's very important to me. He's the best kid; he's funny and so sweet. My mom, she's the strongest woman I know. She's always been a rock. When my dad died, it was so hard on her. They were high school sweethearts. They meant the world to one another and his death really took a lot out of her, not to mention the fact that not one, but both of her children became wolves. But now she's getting better with it all. She's actually dating Bella's father, Charlie. He and my dad were best friends."

"Do you think it would bother your father to know that his best friend and his wife are in love

now?"

"Honestly, no, I don't think my dad would mind. If anything, he would find it comforting to know that my mom is with Charlie. He is a good man. Next to my dad, I couldn't imagine my mom with anyone else. Don't get me wrong, it took some getting used to. I didn't like the idea of my mom dating, but Seth being Seth was all for it and he helped me through it."

"It sounds like you have a pretty close family. That's great. it's good to be around someone who actually _loves_ their family. The Volturi call themselves a family, but they're no family of mine, even Jane feels like a stranger these days. But there's Marcus who I can honestly say is like an uncle to me. Speaking of Marcus, I think we need to talk about our situation, Leah. There is so much to work out and I don't know how long I can stay."

"I know, I just… I want us to enjoy this evening and not have to think about all of the mess that's going on. I know you can't stay with me, but can we at least have to night to just…_be?_" Alec pulled toward the rocks and sat down with his back against it and me sitting in the space between his legs.

"As you wish." He kissed me on the top of my head and we watched the stars above us. I showed him all of the constellations and we played twenty one questions. I learned his favorite color was Celtic Green, and when he was a human, his favorite food was blackberries. He also told me he loved Coldplay, and Miles Davis, and when he takes walks through Volterra at night, he thinks about his childhood with Jane and how they had so much fun together. I told him that I loved sitting out in the rain, and that I loved to listen to Paramore on my iPod and dance in the mirror while singing into my hairbrush. Needless to say, he got a kick out of that one. The night couldn't have been more perfect. I guess you could call it our "first date", even though we didn't do the conventional dinner and a movie. I had everything I wanted; the stars, peace and quiet, and most importantly, Alec. I fell asleep in his arms, and he held me the whole night. If there _is_ a heaven on earth, I found it.

**Oookay kidos, there is another chapter for ya! I hope you like it, I know it was fluffy but I felt like Leah and Alec deserved some time together without any B.S. But no worries, there is a looooooot coming your way. Don't forget to Review!!! ~ Vamp p.s. New Moon is my second fav story by Steph so I kind of used her idea of Leah keeping her eyes closed b/c she thought Alec would be a dream if she opened them. If im not mistaken its like in New Moon when Edward comes back and Bella doesn't want to open her eyes. But maybe my imagination is running away from me lol. **


	11. Bittersweet

**I do not own Twilight!!**

**but in my dreams… Edward is ALL mine lol**

**Leah's POV**

**Bittersweet**

I awoke the next morning to the oh too familiar smell of rain in the air. I was still wrapped in Alec's ice cold arms, but I couldn't have been more comfortable. I've lived in Forks all my life, so I knew if I could smell the rain, the drops wouldn't be far away. I took in a large breath of air and I let it fill my senses. It was a wonderful combination of the mountains, rain, and Alec's scent of orange roses and summer heat. I exhaled with a smile on my face and let my eyes focus on the rising sun. I was greeted with two soft ice cold lips pressed firmly to my forehead, then to my eye lids, my cheeks, then finally my lips. I couldn't suppress the smile that crept up my lips as they met Alec's. He smiled back and it literally was the happiest kiss I had ever had.

"I must say, this has been the best wakeup call I have ever had." I turned my face upward to look at him and I noticed an odd change in him.

"Alec? Are you feeling okay?" I sat up quickly to get a better look at him because while the change was subtle. I noticed it right away, seeing as how I had memorized every detail of his face.

"I feel fine, Leah, what's the matter? You look scared and your heartbeat is picking up, calm down."

"No, you're not fine, your eyes are darker. They're not as red. What's wrong with them?" Alec stared into my eyes and he quickly looked away from me. He looked ashamed, and it made me worry even more.

"Alec! What is going on?" I didn't mean to raise my voice but he was scaring me and it just came out.

"Leah, calm down, it's nothing… it's just, I haven't had anything to eat in days. When that happens, my eyes get darker until they turn black. It happens to us all." My heart rate started to slow to normal and I relaxed enough to make sense of it all. I remembered Jake saying something about how vampires' eyes were red when they fed off of human blood and that was why the Cullens had amber eyes, because they fed on animals. Goose bumps raised on my arms when I thought about Alec feeding on some poor innocent person. It made me wonder what his type was. I guess how he liked his "steak" cooked, if you know what I mean. Did he like women, men, young, old, or God forbid, children? I had to shake it off. I didn't want to think of the love of my life that way, but I knew I had to face it sooner or later. This seemed like the best time to discuss our future and my request that he change his eating habits.

"So, you're saying that you haven't had any blood lately...so you haven't killed anyone lately?" He looked over at me and his eyes bore into mine with a sincerity that would melt the heart of anyone who dared to look back at him.

"Leah, I am going to be completely honest with you because I feel that if you love someone, truly love them, that you can tell them any and everything and not feel worried that they will turn from you. I love you, Leah, and I value your opinion of me more than my own twin, but I need you to promise me something before I answer your question?"

My breathing became staggered and I felt my lip began to tremble. I had no idea what was about to come out of Alec's mouth, but the way he was looking at me and the way he held my shoulders in place made me think it might not be something I wanted to hear. But he was right, if you love someone they _should_ be able to tell you any and everything and not be scared. And if there was one thing I was sure of in my crazy and deranged life, it was that I loved him. Actually, _love_ isn't even a strong enough word to describe how I felt for him. I don't even believe there _is_ a word that can describe how I feel for him. So I needed to toughen up and take it, whatever he had to tell me, I would take it and deal because I loved him.

"I promise Alec, there is nothing that you can't tell me." I watched as he took a deep breath of unnecessary air and he let go of my shoulders but his eyes never left mine.

"Leah, before I came here yesterday, I changed someone. A young woman, her name is Annabel." The look on Alec's face was one I couldn't describe. He looked incredibly pained and shameful. I didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything. I was shocked, that was for sure, probably because for the second time today, I was reminded that the love of my life was a killer. He was exactly the type of monster that I was created to destroy, but I couldn't believe that. I couldn't believe that Alec was like the others. If he was, I couldn't imagine how he would have been made for me. No, he was different. The look on his face alone told me that. He didn't have to say it out loud for me to know that he hated what he did. Now I just needed to listen to his reasoning and focus on his feels, opposed to my own.

"Leah, I had to. I was visiting with my family in hopes to keep them from getting suspicious because I had been spending so much time by myself. It was "meal" time and the tourists were let into the room. One of the girls, Annabel, was screaming to run, but it was too late. Somehow, she knew what we were. My family descended on them and it was over before it even began. I just stood there, I couldn't do it. Something in me wouldn't let me join them. Aro ordered for Annabel to be spared. He is always looking for new talent and I guess he found it intriguing that she knew something was different about us and that we were dangerous. After everyone was dead, she told us how she had a gift passed down from generation to generation through the women in her family. She has the gift of perception; she can sense when something is wrong or when something was going to go wrong. Aro liked that, so he made me change her to see if it could be stronger once she was like us. Leah, you have to understand. Aro noticed that I didn't feed with the rest of them, he would have gotten suspicious if I didn't change her. All it would have taken was one touch from him to know about us. I even tried to make it easier for her by biting her on her wrist. I didn't want to hurt her, but I had to do it for us."

Alec kept his eyes on me searching desperately for some evidence that I wouldn't run away from him screaming. In the back of my head, I knew that would have been the _right_ thing to do, but for the past three days my heart had been making all of the decisions.

"Alec…" I didn't know what to say to him, I couldn't think of one thing that would explain how I felt. Oddly enough, in some crazy, sick, twisted way, it made me love him more knowing he did it for us. "Alec, I understand, really I do. It's written all over your face that you didn't want to do what you did. Actually, I'm relieved. Not that you had to change an innocent person, but the fact that you didn't _want _to. See, I've been doing a lot of thinking. I was trying to figure out how we could be together, seeing as how you're eating habits are a big issue for me and everything that I believe in as a wolf and as a person. Alec, would you ever consider…" He cut me off before I could finish my sentence.

"YES! A thousand times yes! I want to Leah, I was going to suggest the same thing…"

"Wait, you don't even know what I am asking yet. I'm talking about you living like the Cullens. Is that what you are talking about?

"Of course, Leah, I have been thinking about it since I left you the first time, I talked it over with Marcus and…"

"Hold it, that's another thing we need to discuss before we go any further into this "vegetarian" thing. Why did you tell Marcus about us? Isn't he going to tell Aro? This could be dangerous Alec."

"Leah, you have to understand, Marcus saw it happen. He actually watched the imprint happen. Marcus is gifted as well. He has the ability to see the emotional bonds between people. He saw it, Leah, the moment it happened, he knew we were connected. It makes so much sense because when I wanted to come back that day, he agreed with me that I should come and "check" on you all. Then we went for a walk through the city the next night and he brought it up. He told me he wanted out too, Leah. He's not happy. He hasn't been happy since Didyum died, that was his wife, Aro's sister, but that is another story for another time. Anyways, he told me he wouldn't tell he helped me get here yesterday too. If there is anyone we can trust, it's Marcus. He too is eager to learn the Cullen way of life." Needless to say, I was dumb founded. There was so much information getting thrown around, I barely had time to register it all. I knew the Cullens would soon come up again in this conversation, so I figured I would just get it out of the way.

"Alec, all of this is good news, and while I am happy that you can Marcus are willing to change, I'm afraid the three of us will have to do this on our own. When I got the idea, I went to the Cullens to ask for their help. I mean let's be honest, I'm not a vampire, so I have no idea what it's like to go against your natural instincts to kills humans and control your thirst. I spoke with Carlisle and he told me he was more than willing to help, but he had to talk it over with the rest of his family, naturally. They put it to a vote and we lost. Edward and Bella of course said no, since you and the rest of your family had just left from trying to kill their child. Rosalie said no due to the fact that she is extremely biased against wolves and she hates me. Alice couldn't see the outcome because I'm a wolf and she cannot see my future or anyone who is linked to me. Jasper said no because he is an ex-soldier and his natural war instincts tell him never to trust the enemy. Emmett said yes because he thought it would be fun, of course, and Esme voted yes because she sees how much we love each other. And Carlisle said yes because he believes everyone deserves a chance at life."

Alec could see the hurt in my face and for the first time, he broke our eye contact to pull me close to him and comfort me. I was on the verge of tears again and he could sense it. I didn't want to cry, but once again, it hit me that there was so much against us.

"Leah, it's going to be okay. Maybe I should go talk to them...maybe I can convince them that I want to change. And Marcus and Carlisle have so much respect for each other. Maybe if they knew Marcus was willing too, they would know this wasn't some trick. I'm not giving up on this, Leah, I _will_ do this. I have never been the type of man to give up on something, especially when it's something that I want as badly as I want you. If this is what it is going to take for me to have you and keep you, then I swear I will do everything in my power."

Hearing him talk to me like that was overwhelming. The tears began to freely flow from my eyes at that moment. It was bittersweet, while I was moved to tears by his love for me and his will to make it work, I couldn't help but shed some tears of worry and fear for the war that was destined to come. I pulled myself from Alec's strong arms and looked him in his blackening eyes.

"You do realize this will not end well for everyone. There _will_ be a war, Alec, I can feel it. I don't know what side will win, but I do know one thing... we both need to prepare ourselves for the casualties. I have a brother that will fight on our side and part of me feels as though you will be fighting against your sister, the other half of you. Are you ready to fight your own flesh and blood if need be?"

Out of nowhere, a fire lit behind Alec's eyes and they bore into mine with a vengeance that ignited a fire inside of me that I never knew could exist. He was ready. He knew as well as I did that a war was coming and this was just another sign that we belonged together. I was always ready for a fight, and by the looks of the man that was kneeling in front of me, _my_ man, he too shared the same fire. We didn't know when, or where, or who even would be on our side, but the one thing we knew was in the end, we _would_ be together, one way or another. Alec rose to his feet, bringing me with him, but never breaking eye contact. "Leah, I know what the consequences are and I don't care. All I want is you."

I took his hand in mine and pulled him toward the side of our mountain as the thunder rolled above our heads and the clouds began to darken.

"Well, I guess we have a family of vampires to pay a visit." As we made our way down the side of the mountain and we hit the trees, there was a crack of lightning and the rain began to poor down as Alec swooped me onto his back and took off running through the forest, head first toward our destiny.

Okay, I hoped you liked this chapter, I know I promised you all more in this chapter but I think this talk was also needed so they could catch each other up on new developments. But I'm sure you all can see that the action is soon to start, also if you haven't noticed the rating for this story is "M" I doubt I need to say more on the matter and I don't want to give to much away I think you know where I'm coming from. (coughing) Lemons, Lemons lol So I'm warning you now. Much Love!! And please review ~ Vamp P.S. I have the BEST BETA IN THE WORLD she is working two summer jobs and STILL finds time to edit my story so thanx Sw1m4l1fe!!


	12. Yesterday's Feelings

**I do not own Twilight!!**

**But I did Purchase all the Books, The Deluxe DVD, and the Books on CD lol **

Yesterday's Feelings

**Leah's POV**

I couldn't help but feel the butterfly's swimming in my stomach as Alec bolted toward the Cullen house. I didn't know what he was going to say, or better yet how the Cullens would respond, especially Edward and Bella. I had no doubt in my mind we would still have Carlisle, Esme, and Emmett on our side. I'm secretly praying that Alice can find a hole in her vision that will show the Cullens that Alec is serious about changing his ways to be with me. If she could see his future, maybe that would be the difference that we needed.

I was pulled from my thoughts by an overpowering scent that filled the air and made my stomach churn; there was no doubt in my mind that it hit Alec too because he practically skidded to a stop. The rain was still pouring and the thunder and lightning began to echo loudly in my ears.

"I take it you smell it too?" I asked him.

"Yes, but it's sweeter than usual." Alec stood as still as a statue with me perched on his back. I was in awe at his ability to stand completely still with me on his back. I realized I recognized the scent that we could smell getting closer to us.

"Nessie. The Cullens must be in the area." Alec craned his head around to look at me but his face seemed confused.

"'Why would the Cullens be out in a thunderstorm?" The realization hit me and I groaned in disbelief.

"Ugh, baseball." I said as I dropped my head to his right shoulder blade. The Cullens picked the _perfect _day to want to play baseball. Too bad Alec's helicopter was dead smack in the middle of their playing field. Alec had a slight smile on his face, but the confusion did not leave.

"Baseball? The Cullens like to entertain themselves with America's favorite past time? That's…different, not bad just, different." He said with a shrug of his shoulders that caused me to shift my weight higher on his back.

"Yeah, Jake told me once that they play during storms because the force of it all would be too loud to go unnoticed. They're probably looking at your helicopter right now. I'm sure some of them won't be too happy when they see you at the edge of the field."

"Us, Leah, when they see us. There is no more _me_ or _you._ We are an _us_ now, what you go through I go through. You will not have to do this alone again. This time I will be with you and this is going to work. Now, instead of us going all the way to the Cullen's home, we can meet them halfway. See, it's already working out for the better." He kissed me on my forehead and flashed me a smile so big and bright that the grip I had on him with my legs went weak and I would have fallen off of him if he didn't have such a strong hold on me. How could I doubt this man? I had no choice but to smile back and kiss him on the cheek as he took off again toward the field.

I could feel Alec tensing a little as we got closer, no doubt the Cullens could hear and smell us. My senses weren't as keen as Alec's, but I could tell that all of the Cullens were in the clearing. I could hear someone tossing a baseball into the air and catching it into their palm. I could also hear someone pacing. Once we entered the clearing completely, I could finally see everyone; Carlisle and Edward were standing face to face having a silent conversation which I had grown accustomed to. Edward and Rosalie were standing with Nessie on the edge of the field close to the forest. No doubt for safety, in case they needed to run with Nessie, Emmett was standing on top of the propeller of Alec's helicopter with his arms out smiling. He reminded me of Leonardo DeCaprio in Titanic. Leave it up to Emmett to joke around with someone's random helicopter. Alice was standing next to Jasper who looked anxious, and Esme was standing on the opposite side of Alice. Esme was rubbing Alice's back. Alice looked a little off, no doubt due to the fact that Alec and I had shown up and she could no longer see the future. Once we were spotted on the edge of the forest opposite of everyone, Alec gently dropped me from his back and I quickly maneuvered myself next to him and clasped my hand to his. We stopped short when we heard growls rip from across the field. Edward, Bella, and Rose had gone into a defensive crouch and Bella had positioned Nessie behind her.

"Well, Dear, I guess I shouldn't have expected them to welcome me with open arms." Alec smiled a weak smile at me and turned to face the Cullens.

"Hello, um, please don't be alarmed. I am not here to cause a fight. I simply wanted to speak with you all. Leah and I were on our way to your home but as fate would have it, here we are." Alec took a small step forward not wanting to threaten, but as a sign of peace..Bella didn't like that much. Using her new vampire speed, she ran up to him and looked him square in the eyes.

"Now listen, I know you are Leah's imprint, but that does no change our prior relationship. You came to _our_ home to kill us all, most importantly, my child. As we both know, your powers are hopeless against me and if you try anything, please know that I will drop you where you stand and I will delight in watching the pieces of your burning flesh turn to black smoke in the middle of this field."

I had to admit, since Bella realized she could protect not only herself, but anyone of her choice from the mental attacks of the Volturi, she had been fearless. In my opinion it was about time she stopped being so timid and stood up for herself. I think that was always my big problem with Bella. When she was human, she had two guys practically fighting over who would have the honor in protecting her. Not once did I ever see her try and stand up for herself. Maybe I missed something, but it was almost like she never cared. Now, now it's different. She stands up for herself and her child. Even if she was threatening the man I loved, I couldn't help but secretly be proud of her.

I was a little worried as to how Alec would take to Bella, after all, she was right. He _did_ try and kill her and her family. I was reassured when he took an unnecessary breath and squeezed my hand again. When he spoke, it was no louder than a whisper, but there was no need to be any louder considering everyone would probably be able to hear the conversation a mile away.

"Bella, I know I have been nothing but trouble for you and your family and looking back, I have come to regret that…" Alec was cut off mid sentence. Edward had made his way across the field and he was standing next to Bella he looked at me with fire in his eyes, no doubt pissed off that Alec was here and in close proximity with his family and half human daughter. He turned to speak to Alec but Alec made it a point to address him first.

"Edward, it's good to see you. Like I was telling Bella, we were on our way to your home to visit. I wanted to speak with you and your family. When we sensed you all, Leah told me that you all liked to play baseball on days like these and I want to apologize for the inconvenience. I hope I didn't put a damper on your day." Alec and Edward both looked toward the obvious helicopter in the middle of the field that Rose was now pulling Emmett off of.

"Alec, I'm sure you can see tell from my wife's comments that you are not welcome here. Now, Leah's imprint or not, you will not come near my family. If you wish to speak with us, you can do so now, but that will be it. I will not allow you to enter our home and I will certainly not allow you to endanger my child. Now I have listened to the rest of my family's feeling on the matter and while some of them would rather not speak with you, some of them are willing to hear you out. "

"Well, thank you. I appreciate the opportunity to present myself to you all." I couldn't help but feel like I was having déjà vu. Just days before, the Volturi were here to listen to the Cullen's explanation for Nessie and now my Alec was the one on trial to defend our love. Funny how quickly things can change. Emmett, Jasper, Alice, Carlisle, and Esme walked across the field to talk to Alec. Rose stayed behind with Nessie, but I could feel her eyes on us and I could practically smell the disdain she had for us. Carlisle, being the head of the family, spoke first. I could feel Jasper trying to calm the waters and I was so grateful for that. The rain storm that had begun earlier in the morning had stalled, leaving only thunder and lightning, but no rain. I started to wonder if this was a sign.

"Good Morning, Alec. This visit is a surprise, how was your trip?" I don't think there was a malice bone in Carlisle's body. He was always so kind and welcoming, even to someone who used to be a threat to his family.

"Good Morning, Carlisle, my trip was okay. I feel a whole lot better now that I am here with Leah. I am sorry to be a burden, but I really wanted to speak with you all about a rather important matter."

"Well, I see no reason why we can't talk. After all, you are Leah's imprint, and she has been a great help to me and my family. So, what is the reason for this unexpected visit?" Alec looked over at me and gave me a reassuring look before he began his speech.

"Listen, I know that our past encounters have been rocky, well that is an understatement. They have been almost deadly. But since our last meeting, something has changed. _I_ have changed. As you all know, Leah imprinted on me on this very field almost a week ago. We obviously didn't plan it, and as you know, we cannot change it either. Not that I would want to, Leah is the most wonderful person I have ever met. If I couldn't be with her, I know for a fact that I would not be able to go on. Carlisle, when I decided to come visit yesterday, I had made a choice. I chose to completely change my life around. I spoke with Marcus and…" Edward jumped in and I guess the mention of Marcus tweaked his interest.

"Wait, Marcus knows about you and Leah? Why would you tell him? Didn't you stop to think that he would tell the rest of the Volturi?" Carlisle put a hand on Edward's shoulder to calm him. Edward pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath.

"Son, as you know, Alec would not have to tell Marcus if he and Leah had feelings for one another. Marcus has a gift for seeing relationships between people. He probably saw the imprint happen. Alec, did you tell Marcus or did he confront you about your relationship with Leah?" Carlisle was dead on. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something was making me feel confident about the situation we were in. I felt like this could actually work and Alec would win over the Cullens. Or at least enough of them to have the vote sway in our favor. Maybe after Alec showed them he was serious about changing, they would all come around. All but Rosalie, I could see her pacing across the field glaring at us.

"Carlisle, I had no intention of telling anyone about myself and Leah until I could fully understand what was happening. Marcus went on a walk with me one night through the city and he brought it up. That is part of what I wanted to speak to you about. Listen, Carlisle, I want to change. I want the chance to live like you and your family. I don't want to be ashamed of who I am anymore. I have lived for so long in the dark hiding behind the Volturi walls and following Aro as he and Caius bend the rules of our kind to suit themselves. I don't want to be a murderer anymore. I know I have messed up, but I love this woman and I will do anything to be with her. Even leave everything I know behind to change and make this right. Marcus is ready to make that change as well. He, too, wants to escape the hell that we call home and family. For the first time in centuries, I finally feel like I have a chance to be happy. Please, give me that chance. If we thought we could do this on our own, we would try. But we know this is a task that will take more than just the three of us. My Leah is a strong, powerful woman, but I doubt she would be able to control two thirsty vampires in "rehab" if you get my drift. Carlisle, please, you have to believe me. I have changed, I want to make that transformation complete, and Marcus wants that chance as well. Leah told me about the meeting she had with you all yesterday and I know it did not go well. I am hoping that my visit will change your decision."

My grip tightened on Alec's cold hand as we waited for Carlisle and the rest of the Cullens to speak. It felt like we had been standing in the field for hours. The rain had begun to fall again, but this time, it was a light mist. The lighting still lit up the sky, but the thunder was now just a low rumble in the sky. A part of me felt defeated, but the other part of me, the part of me that was winning over the defeated side, told me that this was going to work. I felt calm. I didn't know if it was me feeling confident, or Jasper calming the situation, but I wasn't complaining.

"Alec, you would make a good lawyer, but like I told Leah it is not only up to me. My family and I must vote on the matter. I doubt the outcome will change though. And if it does not, I would be more than happy to give you, Leah, and Marcus the tools you will need to help you along in these trying times. I hope that will be enough for you."

"Thank you, Carlisle, I hope your votes will change, but if not, then we would be more than happy to accept what you can give us." Carlisle spoke in vampire speed as he called Rosalie over to collect her vote. She brought Nessie along with her and she shielded her from our view, afraid that Alec would attack her, I'm sure.

"I still don't see why we have to vote again, it's not like anything is going to change. I mean come on, we're really going to do this? He tried to kill Nessie and the rest of our family, and now he shows up here with his _pet_ and gives some speech. So, what, we're supposed to roll over and drool like his _dog_…

I didn't know what came over me, one minute I was standing holding Alec's hand and listening to this blond bimbo call me Alec's pet and then everything went red. Maybe it was the lack of sleep from the prior weeks, maybe it was the frustration of being called out of my name so many times. But out of everything that I was unsure of, the one thing I _was_ sure of was that Rosalie Hale was going to shut her mouth, one way or another.

"Ness, move out of the way." was all I could get out before the flames of furry took me over completely.

I had no idea how angry I was until I heard the growl rip from my chest, my blood was boiling and the adrenalin rush made my heart beat at an alarming rate. Before I knew it, I had run toward Rosalie with more force and strength than I knew I had in me. The last real fight I was in was two years prior with the newborns and I was way over due for a battle. I slammed into Rosalie knocking her to the ground, I was still in human form, but my anger had given me strength. Nessie had run from behind Rose as she was told and with her out of the way, I had no more inhibitions. A growl rumbled in Rosalie's chest, she flipped me over her head but I landed on my feet with my back toward the on lookers. I turned quickly and the only thing I could see was her, I had tunnel vision. I couldn't see Alec, Carlisle, anyone. It was just me and Barbie. Rose sunk down into a familiar crouch and we both jumped toward one another. Before we had a chance to collide, I heard two voices scream out at the same time.

"NO!" Then everything went black…literally.

************************************************************************

I had no idea what happened, I could feel two strong arms pinning me down to the wet grass, I thought for a second that Rose had pinned me but the hands were too rough to be female. It hit me, then, that I still could not see. Needless to say, I was scared shitless.

"GET OFF OF ME NOW!" I began to shout as my mind started to catch up, but I was still pinned to the ground. I could hear Rosalie screaming somewhere nearby and she was just as unhappy as I was.

"GET THE HELL OFF OF ME. I'M GOING TO RIP THAT MUTT TO SHREDS, I PROMISE, AND WHY CAN'T I SEE? GET OFF OF ME!"

The next thing I heard was Esme's sweet voice, it was very soothing and it took some of the tension away.

"Leah, Rose, you two must stop this. I do not want my grandchild around this kind of violence. She has seen enough for a lifetime. Please, calm down and the boys will let you up. Alec will also give you your sight back, but you mus…"

"WHAT?! Alec, you used your powers on me? I can't believe this. You're my imprint, and you blind me?"

"Leah, my love, I did it for your own good. You and Rosalie were going to kill each other. How can we get anywhere if we're going to fight the ones who can help us?" I was beyond angry. I couldn't believe he had used his ability on me. Blinding me and Rose so we couldn't see one another to fight...I loved him, this was true, it was also true that he had some strange power over me. This time, I refused to let the silky bass in his voice take me over. I was pissed and I had planned to stay that way for as long as I could. Or at least until he gave me back my sight and I saw his stunning face again.

"So this is how you stop it, by blinding me?!"

"LEAH, there is no more _me,_ remember? There is only _us_ now." He was right, as much as I didn't want to admit it, he was right and I had to remember that my hot headed temper affected him as well as me.

"So are you going to stop fighting so I can get off of you and give you both back your sight?"

"Ugh, yes." All at once, I could see the dark sky and Alec's face above me. I couldn't help but smile. He bent down to kiss me on my nose and then pulled me off the wet ground. A few feet away, Emmett wasn't having much luck with Rosalie. Alec had given her her sight back as well, but she was still trying to fight Emmett off of her. In her defense, I would still be pissed as well. Emmett being Emmett was sitting on top of Rose with one hand restraining her arms above her head while he was tickling her with the other one. I guess trying to make her laugh, but she was too angry to laugh at him. Carlisle jumped in when he realized Emmett wasn't helping.

"Rosalie, you must control your temper and stop being so rude to Leah and Alec. We understand that you are worried about our family's safety, but provoking Leah is not a good way to get your point across. It is childish and the both of you should know better than to let your tempers get the best of you. Now Emmett, get off of Rose and do not make this any worse."

I don't know what it is about Carlisle, but when he speaks, everyone listens. Even though the Cullen "kids" were not really teenagers, they still respected their parents. Both Rosalie and Emmett obeyed Carlisle's orders. While Rose was wiping the wet grass off of herself, I decided that I needed to apologize to Nessie. My last wish would be to put her in danger and even though she had grown, once again since I saw her the day before, she was still a sweet baby. I walked over to her alone, knowing that if Alec joined me, there would be another fight in the works.

"Nessie, come here sweetie. Ness smiled big at me and she ran at me with her hybrid speed. I was lucky I had fast reflexes. Listen, kid, I'm sorry if I scared you. I didn't mean to, I was just so frustrated and I'm really scared about what is going to happen with me and Alec. I know this is a lot for a little girl to understand, but let's be honest, kid, you're no average little girl."

"Leah, I know you're worried and I know Aunt Rose made you angry, but in your defense, you did tell me to move, so no harm done. I still love you. You have helped protect me and my family. I don't think I could ever be mad at you." Nessie put her hand on my cheek and showed me memories of the pack standing side by side with her family when we almost had to fight the Volturi. I grimaced at the idea of fighting Alec before we realized our love for one another. I gave Ness a quick hug then set her down to go stand with her mother. We had a vote to get to and I didn't want to waste anymore time.

I joined Alec and the rest of the Cullens and I could tell Jasper was focusing hard on keeping the situation calm. Carlisle gave us all a reassuring look before he spoke.

"Okay everyone, let's get this vote underway. All those in favor of staying neutral and not helping Leah, Alec, and Marcus in their new lifestyle, raise your hands."

As before Rosalie, Edward, Jasper, Alice, and Bella's hands shot up in the air. My heart sank, once again. Carlisle knew the vote was not in our favor, but for good measure, he continued the vote.

"All of those in favor." Esme, Carlisle, and Emmett all raised their hands, the vote stood five to three. Esme gave me and Alec a sad look and I could tell she felt bad for us.

"Leah, Alec, I am sorry but we cannot…"

"WAIT!" Alice interrupted Carlisle she had a look of shock on her face and she was grasping Jasper's arm as if she needed to steady herself.

"I change my vote. Another voice spoke up quickly. I didn't look away from Alice's face to see which Cullen had changed their mind. I didn't need to, I knew the voice too well, it was Edward's.

**OOOOKKKKAY KIDS, NOW FIRST OFF, I WANT TO SAY THAT I AM SOOOO SORRY IT HAS TAKEN ME THIS LONG TO UPDATE, I HAVE HAD A LOT GOING ON IN MY LIFE WITH FAMILY, AND SCHOOL. I HAVE ALSO HAD SOME TROUBLE WITH THE CHAPTER B/C I DIDN'T KNOW HOW MUCH I WANTED TO REVEAL IN THIS CHAPTER OR IF I WANTED TO MAKE YOU ALL WAIT JUUUUST A LITTLE LONGER LOL. I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER IT IS LONGER THAN THE REST SO I HOPE THAT MAKES UP FOR THE DELAY. AS ALL WAYS PLEASE R&R I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO KNOW WHAT YOU ALL THINK OF IT. I AM ALL FOR ****CONSTRUCTIVE**** CRITICISM!! MUCH LOVE, VAMP!!**


	13. When it Hurts

**I do not own Twilight!! **

**Steph has it on lockdown lol**

**Leah's POV**

When it Hurts

Dear God, I owe you one. I almost fell backwards when I heard Edward say he changed his vote. There was no doubt in my mind that Alice had seen a vision and seeing as how Edward has that whole 'mind reading thing' working in his favor, he saw it firsthand. My only issue was what she could have seen that affected his vote. It couldn't be something with me, Alec, or Marcus because seeing as how they were now a part of my life directly, their future would be a blur to her. Bella looked at Edward with fire in her eyes. A part of her knew that if Edward changed his vote, then Alice's vision must have made the difference and that Alice would most likely also change her vote, which would give us the votes we needed to help Alec and Marcus.

"Edward, what do you mean you change your vote? You're going to put our daughter's life in danger to help them? What has gotten into you?" Bella was beyond mad, she had her fists in to little tight balls and her shoulders were tense. Her eyes glowed a crimson red and every time the lightning struck up ahead, her cold stare intensified.

"Bella love, please let me explain. Alice's vision has changed things. Believe me when I say you will want to change your vote as well." Edward looked around at his family. They all were as still as statues and their eyes were focused on either Edward or Alice. Alice was still grasping onto Jasper's arm, but she now looked more like herself. The suspense was killing everyone, I could see it, but no one said a word. I couldn't take it anymore, so I spoke up.

"Alice, what did you see that would make Edward change his vote? And why would it make Bella want to change her vote as well? Please tell us what is going on." Alec took my hand in his and brought me closer to him. The close contact was definitely a comfort. So much was going on and I was trying my best to take it all in. Alice slowly let go of Jasper's arm and he looked her over once before he allowed her to speak. We could all see that the vision was strong. Alice was usually so energetic and upbeat, so to see her look, well, practically worn out was scary and a bit unnerving. She took a deep breath as she tried to fill us in on what she had seen.

"I saw Jane. She was here in our forest with some other woman, a blond girl, very pretty but obviously a new born. Jane was saying something about us, something about our family. She said that we were the reason that her brother was dead and they had to get a better feel for our land so the attack would come as a surprise when they decided to attack. She told the girl that she had to be careful because of mine, Edward, and Bella's gifts. She also said something about Nessie. Apparently, our little hybrid will be developing another gift that the Volturi will find very interesting. The only issue is, I don't know what it is, and to make matters worse, I don't know what it is that would make Jane blame us for Alec's death. Better yet, I don't even know why he would die." Suddenly every eye was now on me and Alec. I didn't know what to do. I had no idea what was going to happen that would cause Alec to die. I would never let anything happen to him. The tears came flowing down my face before I even had the chance to process that I was crying. I was losing it. I had absolutely no control over my emotions; my mind was running on overdrive as I ran through different scenarios in my head. I kept coming up short and nothing seemed to make sense.

"What do you mean Alec will die? I would never do anything to hurt him and I for damn sure wouldn't let anyone else hurt him. Please, Alice, you have to change your vote. You can't let this happen, besides if one of you doesn't change your vote, the Volturi will be after you all." Rosalie walked over and stood next to Alice she was once again getting annoyed with the situation.

"Oh come off it, Leah. If we help you, no matter what, we're going to have to fight with the Volturi. They're not just going to let Marcus and Alec go without a fight, you know that." Jasper jumped in this time. He looked so focused it reminded me of the time when he trained us for battle with the newborns.

"Yes Rose, we will have to fight, but it will be different this time. If we help Alec, we will have him on our side. Besides, we have Bella, so she can protect us all from Jane's power. Alec can use his to disarm the Volturi and we can take them down easier. This could work." Emmett ran over to Jasper's side with a huge goofy smile on his face. Nothing seemed to faze Emmett.

"Yeah, and besides, Nessie here has some new gift that we don't even know about yet. Maybe she will be some sort of key to taking them out." Rose slapped Emmett in the back of the head, but as usual, he shrugged it off.

"I'm with Edward." It was Jasper who spoke. "I change my vote as well. This vision has changed things. Besides, Leah has been a huge help for our family in the past. She has put her life on the line for us when she didn't know if we would turn on her and her pack. We have to do this if we want to protect our family and our home. Do you have any idea what kind of terror the Volturi will unleash on the town of Forks? It will be a blood bath." Alec had a tight grasp on my hand. I guess he could feel how weak I was from everything. He took the liberty of speaking up, too, because I was spent.

"So, with Jasper and Edward changing their votes, we have enough to proceed, correct? I mean, Bella, I know you are worried about the safety of your daughter, but I would never hurt her. I promise you that. This is the real deal, no tricks, no alternative motives. I know what I have to do to be with Leah and I am ready to make that change. Not to mention, I think it is time for the Volturi to pay for their crimes. I know I am also responsible for some of their carnage, but the difference is I have always known that it was not okay. I'm tired of living in survival mode. I'm ready to really live, to start my life here with Leah. No one deserves to live in fear, and if we don't do this, every last one of you will have to spend eternity looking over your shoulder." Bella picked up Nessie and held her close. Ness put her hand on Bella's cheek speaking to her without words. Whatever she said, it made Bella and Edward both smile.

"Esme, Ness thinks you should get to work on a small house for Alec. He's going to be staying with us for a while." I closed my eyes and exhaled into Alec's shoulder. I was so relieved I couldn't even speak, not that I needed to.

"You're welcome, Leah." Edward had answered my silent thank you and I was grateful for his eavesdropping skills.

"Okay, so how shall we do this? Since we don't have a time chart for the battle and when it will be taking place, I am going to devote myself to your new home Alec." Esme looked ecstatic. Judging by the Cullen's home, I knew she had a knack for interior design.

"Esme, you are very kind, I just don't know exactly when I will be able to get away. I know for a fact that no one has any idea, besides Marcus, about what is going on between me and Leah. My only worry is I don't know when I will be able to make my escape without them coming directly here. I was thinking about asking for some leave and going on a "vacation" some time, out of Italy. I'm hoping Aro and Caius will go for it. Besides Caius, Aro, and the wives go on excursions all the time. I've never give them a reason not to trust me, I just have to play my cards right."

"That's perfect!" Alice screamed. "You can go to Isle Esme. It will be a stretch, what with that tracker of theirs, but it's worth a shot. Carlisle can go along and help with your training. This could really work. Leah, you could even go along. You need some time away, I'm sure. As for Marcus, he will have to stay in Italy and inform us if Aro is getting antsy. We will have to train him after the battle so they do not get suspicious of the both of you going on "vacation"."

"Well, I for one, think this is great! I mean, we haven't weaned anyone off of human blood since Jasper and this could be fun!" This time Esme smacked Emmett on the back of the head. She didn't say anything to him, she just shook her head at him. He got the idea; he hung his head low and kept his mouth shut. Rose wasn't so kind to keep her comments to herself, though, then again, why would she.

"Look, if we have to do this, then fine! I will, but only for the sake of my family. I'm not doing this for Leah, and I am most certainly not doing this for _him_." She glared at Alec but instead of Alec glaring back, he gave her a slight smile that annoyed Rose, but it made Nessie giggle.

"Sorry, Aunt Rose, but he's kind of funny."

"Rosalie, I know you don't care for me, but I promise, I will stay out of your hair. You can count on that."

"That was very nice of you Alec. Rose, don't you think you should thank Alec for his efforts to not burden you?" Esme was pulling the "mom card" on Rosalie, and as much as Rose hated it, she was not one to disobey Esme.

"Thank you Alec, I really appreciate it."

"Rose, let's get Ness back to the house. It's been a long morning. She needs to eat and I want her to take a nap before Jake comes over." Bella had picked up on the maternal instincts quickly. She was a damn good mother, that I could not argue with. The Cullens said their goodbyes to us. I could tell that they were still a little worried about the arrangements, but at least they were on board. That's all I could ask for.

Once Alec and I were alone in the clearing, I couldn't resist the urge to wrap myself around his tall slender frame and locking my lips to his. The lightning had finally seized, but the rain continued to mist around us. We stayed like that for a good five minutes before I couldn't sneak anymore breaths and I needed a good fill of oxygen. I hadn't really looked at Alec the entire morning. My mind was other places, but now that I finally had the chance to see him, the rain did him justice. His hair was slicked down and it hovered over his eyes that were now getting darker. His shirt was stuck to his body and his slacks were now sticking to his legs. I caught him staring at my top, which was now soaking wet and clinging to me. Alec lifted his hand to my now swollen bottom lip and he wiped the rain drops from it. I linked my fingers into his hair and stared into his eyes. Neither one of us said a word. We didn't need to speak. We knew how relieved the other one was that our plans were starting to come together. We also knew that he would have to leave soon, so as to not raise suspicion. He held on to me tightly until the rain stopped. I had no idea what time it was, but judging from the position of the sun in the sky, which was bleak, it had to be around eleven in the morning.

"Leah."

"No, you can't go again, Alec. I don't think I can let you go this time, I'm serious." I clung onto his shirt for dear life. I knew he would be back, but to have to watch him climb into the helicopter and leave me alone again for God knows how long was too much to handle.

"This is hard for me too, Leah. Please don't think this is easy for me, I don't want to go. But if this is going to work, I have to. Don't worry, everything is going to be fine. I will be back before you know it, I promise." Alec's lips crashed into mine one last time and I had to let him go. I stood in the middle of the clearing as he lifted off and the wind blew my hair across my face.

Once he was out of sight, I dropped to my knees and cried. I couldn't move. The pain was worse than the day Sam left me. My stomach was in knots and my heart was aching. With my ear pressed to the wet grass, I could hear someone approaching me. I didn't bother to look up because I quickly recognized the foot pattern. It was Seth. He was in wolf form, but I could tell he knew what was going on. He lay down beside me and I could hear him whimpering while he nudged me with his nose. I laid my upper body on his back and cried into his fur. I felt him lift us both off of the ground and he took off into the forest toward the res. I couldn't bear to look up, so I just held on tight until we came to a rest at the edge of the forest near our house. Seth let me off his back and I sat in the grass, leaning on a tree trunk. Seth walked behind a bush to phase and when he reappeared, he sat next to me.

"So he'll be back soon, I heard. I ran into the Cullens on my way to check up on the helicopter. Edward told me I should give you both some time. He said he heard Alec thinking about how he was going to say goodbye to you again. He said you would need some time and that I should come back. Sis, he's coming back. I know I don't have an imprint, so I don't know what it's like to be away from them, but I do know that you still have a family that loves you and you're still a part of a pack. You don't need to say anything, I just wanted you to know that."

My baby brother picked me up off of the forest floor and carried me into the house. I could hear mom in the kitchen and I could smell the food she had been cooking.

"Seth! What's wrong with Leah?" I could hear her running over to him as he made his way to the steps.

"Nothing, Mom, she's fine. I promise, she's just tired, that's all. She's been on patrol and it's taken a lot out of her. Let her sleep it off. I'm sure she'll talk to you later about it."

Seth carried me up to my room and laid me under my covers. He kissed me on my forehead and closed my door behind him. I couldn't sleep. I had too much on my mind. I was worried about Alec and his trip home. I was also now trying to figure out how I was going to tell mom about Alec. Finding out that her children were wolves was tough for her. Now, finding out that her daughter has imprinted on a vampire from an evil Italian coven, that might just kill her. I was finally able to drift off to sleep around three in the afternoon. The rain had started again and the sound was too mind numbing not to put me to sleep. I was hoping to sleep the rest of the day away. If I got lucky, I would sleep until Alec came back. A girl can always dream, right?

**There's chapter 13 hope you liked it and I hope it gave you some more info about where the story is going. Hell, I just found out where the story was going lol. But I hope you all will stick around and go on this awesome journey with me!!! Please R&R**


	14. Don't You Forget About Me

**Hello my lovely readers!!!! I know I know it has been a while since my last chapter and I do apologize for that. The end of my summer was BEYOND busy and I am just getting back to school to start my last semester!!!!! I hope to have my next chapter up ASAP!!! I do believe it will be worth the wait and it is pretty long. So PLEEEASE hang in there with me and don't forget about me!!! Love Ya, Vamp.**


	15. Family Portrait

**do not own Twilight!! **

**Steph has it on lockdown lol**

**Leah's POV**

Family Portrait 

I woke up the next morning sooner than I'd hoped. I could smell the fresh sea water from First Beach and there was a slight breeze that came from my open window. Out of habit, from my _non_-wolf days, I curled up tighter into my blanket and tried to go back to sleep, but then I heard my closet door creak open slightly. I groaned softly thinking it was the breeze moving the door and the last thing I was in the mood to do was get up and close it.

"Good morning, Lee Lee." I sat up quickly to see my mother standing in my door way with a basket of clean clothes. I could smell the fabric softener she used.

"Oh, morning mom, are those for me?" She walked in slowly and flipped on the light, I noticed she looked a little timid and I knew there was something on her mind. Plus, she'd called me Lee Lee, a childhood name that she only used when she wanted me to confide in her. I sat up slowly, knowing that the conversation we were about to have would go one of two ways: _A,_ she would be delighted for me that I finally imprinted and I was completely over Sam. Or _B_, there would be water works, heart clutching, and door slamming. To be perfectly honest, I was becoming quite tired of having to defend my love for Alec. I _might _even throw some clean clothes around out of frustration.

Knowing my mother she would want to ease into what was on her mind. I knew better than to blind side her with the news, and judging from the look on her face as she sat down next to me on the bed, she knew something was going on. No doubt seeing Seth carry me to my room yesterday set an alarm off in her head.

"Mom, you didn't have to do my laundry, I'm a big girl now."

"I know, sweetie, it's just that you and your brother have been so busy with patrolling. I know you haven't had the time and I also know you must be tired of wearing those cut off shorts."

My mother did know me well. As much as I liked being in my wolf form, I'm still a woman and I enjoy looking cute some days.

"Thanks, and sorry for not being home lately, it's just been really crazy. You know how it is." My mother laughed at me and shook her head slightly. I didn't realize until then how much I had missed her. I felt a little guilty that I had not yet told her about Alec, but a part of me knew it was for her own good.

"Baby girl, I will never understand what it is like to shift into a wolf and run around the forest chasing after vampires. Don't forget how special you and the boys are. Speaking of your "gifts", how has everything been going? The boys aren't giving you a hard time, are they? I hope they're not working you too hard. I saw Seth carry you in yesterday, Leah. Not to mention you slept the entire day away. It's 11:30 in the morning. You have always been an early bird, so I know you must be over worked." Here we go, the moment of truth, there was no turning back now.

"Mom, the truth is…wait, before I say this, you have to promise me something. Promise me that no matter what, nothing is going to change. Mom, I need you to promise me." My mother's face dropped a bit, but she quickly rebounded when she noticed her change.

"I'm sorry, Mom, I don't mean to scare you, it's just…"

"I promise, Leah, really I do. Now please tell me what's going on before I go crazy."

"Okay, a few days ago, um, okay…Do you remember the fight that Seth and I told you about. You know, you, Billy and Charlie were hanging out over at Billy's because we wanted you to be safe?"

"Leah, it was only a couple days ago and I was worried sick. Of course I remember."

"Okay. Well, as you know, we never had a battle, but there was this big speech and discussion between the Cullens and their friends and the Volturi. Um, sorry, the bad vamps. Well, during all of this, something happened, something _big_ happened."

"What? What could have happened that…Oh dear God." My mom stood up slowly from my bed and she started backing away. I could hear her heart rate pick up and I quickly jumped to my feet. "Leah, you didn't. Please, please tell me you didn't." I walked over to stand in front of her. She was now standing in front of my window and as her tears started to roll down her copper cheeks. The wind blew and I could smell them.

"Mom, I didn't know it was going to happen. I didn't plan it, you know that. We have no control over who we imprint on. Jake imprinted on Nessie…it's the same thing." The worst case scenario was slowly but surely playing out and little did I know, it was going to be worse than I expected.

"It's not the same, Leah. At least Nessie is half human, and Jacob is not my child. At least she has a beating heart. Wait, you still haven't told me which one it is yet. Is it one of the Cullens? If it is, this can only turn out bad. All of the Cullen men are spoken for. Do you think their wives will take this lightly?… ANSWER ME!" I hung my head low as I readied myself to tell her what coven Alec was from.

"You don't have to worry about that because he is not a Cullen, although, once I tell you, you are going to wish he _was_ a Cullen. He is one of the Volturi. She covered her mouth with her hand and closed her eyes tight. Mom, if you would just get to know him, he is the most wonderful man."

"Wait, did you just tell me that the man you are in love with is one of the vampires that came here to kill you, your pack and the Cullens? Leah, listen to me, I understand that this _man_ is your imprint and you have no control. But I refuse to let this happen. What am I going to tell Charlie? Leah fell in love with some killer who just so happens to have the _same_ features as the Cullens and now Bella, too. What am I going to tell the tribe?" The tears had now begun to cloud my eyes and as much as I didn't want to blink and make them fall, I couldn't help it.

"I didn't realize that this had anything to do with Charlie. I thought it was me, _your_ daughter telling you, _my _mother that I finally found someone and I am happy. For the first time since Sam, I am _happy_. I'm happy mom, and I'm in love with Alec. I know this isn't the way you wanted me to live my life. But this is it and I wouldn't change it for the world. Here I am, pouring my heart out to you about this and all you can say to me is,

"What am I going to tell Charlie and the tribe". God, I wish Dad was alive." That did it. My mom slammed the side of her fist down on the window ledge making a hard thumping sound.

"DON'T YOU DARE BRING YOUR FATHER INTO THIS. I HAVE DONE THE BEST I CAN THESE PAST FEW YEARS TRYING TO TAKE CARE OF YOU AND YOUR BROTHER. I HAVE BEEN THERE FOR YOU, LISTENED TO YOU, LOVED YOU, AND WORKED TWO JOBS TO SUPPORT YOU. DON'T YOU DRAG YOUR FATHER INTO THIS MESS. DO YOU THINK HE WOULD BE _PROUD_ OF THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE IMPRINTED ON SOME LEACH, LEAH?"

"NO! I KNOW HE WOULD HATE IT, AND THAT KILLS ME MOM. YOU HAVE NO _IDEA_ HOW MUCH IT HURTS. I HAVE GONE OVER THIS IN MY HEAD A THOUSAND TIMES. I HAVE FOUGHT TOOTH AND NAIL TO MAKE THIS RIGHT, BUT YOU WON'T EVEN LISTEN! … DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY I PREFER DAD? DO YOU WANT TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE, MOM, HUH? DO YOU WANT TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TELLING YOU AND TELLING HIM? He would have cared more about _my_ feelings then _his_ reputation and good name."

_SMACK! _

She hit me hard, right across the face. I knew it would leave a print, but thanks to my healing abilities, it would only last about ten minutes. I didn't budge. My hair flew across my face and I didn't move. I didn't dare to move. I felt my body start to quake and that all too familiar feeling of fire shooting down my spine hit me hard. My mother saw my hands began to shake and she backed away toward the closet door, her eyes as big as saucers. I stood alone in front of the open window but I couldn't move, I knew if I didn't get away soon, it would be too late and my mother would bear a striking resemblance to Emily, or worse. I tried to control my shaking, but the last three days continued to run over and over again in my head and as the icing on the cake, my mother had slapped me. I couldn't stop it, the fire shot down to my toes and as I looked up to scream for my mother to run, Seth came running through the door and heaved us both out of the open window.

************************************************************************

Seth and I flew out of the open window and the shock of the hit caused the fire to escape from my body. We landed with a loud thud into the flower bed below. I heard a snap and when Seth's body landed on top of mine. I let out a loud yelp of pain and Seth quickly jumped off of me. I could hear my mother yelling from the window above me but I couldn't make out what she was saying. I rolled over onto my back and I noticed that my left wrist was twisted the wrong direction and the bone was slightly sticking out from the side.

"FUCK! SETH, DAMNIT, THIS HURTS. UUUGH!" I rolled from side to side holding my wrist, I could feel it slowly start to heal but the problem was it was healing the wrong way.

"Leah! I'm so sorry, I just didn't know what to do. I heard mom hit you and I knew it wouldn't be long before you would phase and accidentally do something you would regret. Come on, get up. We have to go to the hospital so they can fix you up." I felt bad for yelling at Seth. He was right for what he did, I just wish he hadn't broken my wrist in the process. Sue came running out the front door looking panicked and terrified. I wasn't sure if it was because she had just seen both of her children go through a window, or because I almost phased and quite possibly mauled her.

"SETH, LEAH! ARE THE TWO OF YOU OKAY?" Besides the fact that I was in pain and my wrist was throbbing to no end, I was still pissed off and I couldn't even look at her. I hopped to my feet and held my wrist close to my body for support.

"Leah, where are you going? We have to get that taken care of." Seth trailed closely behind me as I walked quickly toward the forest.

"I know, Seth, I'm going to see Carlisle. I can't go to the hospital. The doctor will wonder why I'm practically healed. Carlisle will have to break it again to fix it." I noticed Sue walking closely behind him but I didn't want her anywhere near me.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME, MOM, I MEAN IT! I DON'T WANT YOU NEAR ME RIGHT NOW. I'M GOING TO THE CULLENS AND THEN TO JAKES, SO DON'T BOTHER LOOKING FOR ME. YOU KNOW WHERE I AM, THAT SHOULD BE ENOUGH." Sue stopped walking and I heard her turn to walk back to the house. Seth was still following me, I'm sure he had something to say on the matter.

"Leah, what were you thinking? What would you have done if I wasn't home? Mom can't heal like us, Leah, you could have killed her."

"SETH, BACK OFF, OKAY?! I know. I know she could have been hurt, but did you hear what she said to me? Seth, she practically told me she was ashamed of me. She hit me, Seth, and for what? Because I fell for a vampire. I mean, Seth, I know Alec wouldn't be her top pick, but I love him. I'm not going to apologize for it. I'm tired of having to defend the way we feel for each other to everyone in my life. I've had it, and you know what, if she can't accept us, then I'm gone. I'll leave home before I let her make me feel bad for loving someone. She got together with Charlie. Dad's _best friend,_ and did I judge her? No. Did I question what the tribe would think? No. Did I say Dad would be so hurt that you fell for his best friend? No. no, no, no. I didn't, because for one, I never thought about it in that way, I was just happy she was happy. I can't keep apologizing for feeling the way I do about Alec. I love mom, Seth, but this hurts too much, and I'm not talking about my wrist."

I took off running past him toward the Cullen house. I was surprised he didn't try and chase me down. I guess in the back of his head, he knew I was right, I was almost one hundred percent sure Seth was going to head back to the res to talk to mom. If she wouldn't listen, she would have Jake or Sam talk to her. I broke through the trees at the back of the Cullen house. I could see Esme in the kitchen through the big glass window. I don't know why, but I had a strong urge to talk to her. Hell, if my mom wouldn't listen, maybe someone else's would.

Esme looked up from whatever she was doing at the table when she heard me approaching outside. When our eyes met, a warm welcoming smile lit up her face. A small twinge of pain shot through my wrist and I suddenly remembered why I was there. Esme must have noticed my wrist because her face dropped and I heard her call for Carlisle while she motioned for me to come in. I walked around to the front of the house, and Carlisle and Esme both met me at the door.

"Leah, what happened?" Carlisle took my wrist into his hands and he gently looked it over. Before I had the chance to explain what happened, Edward came down the steps holding a chess set and interrupted us.

"So to say your mother didn't take it well would be an understatement, I guess." I rolled my eyes in his direction. Edward obviously heard my thoughts. I wasn't in the mood to fight, so I just let it go.

"Leah, did you tell your mother about Alec?" Esme walked along side of me and Carlisle as he ushered me and my broken wrist to the kitchen table.

"Yes, I told her Esme. Needless to say she wasn't happy."

"Well, I know she didn't do _this_, so what exactly happened?" Carlisle asked me as he examined me further. I noticed Edward had scurried away at vampire speed up the steps and he came back down with Carlisle's doctor bag. Edward sat down next to the three of us at the table and I couldn't help but wonder where everyone was. Bella and Nessie were never too far from Edward and I was sure Emmett would want a play by play of how my wrist got broken.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, where is everyone? It's awful quiet in here."

"All of the children took Nessie out hunting. They went further north this time. The three of us stayed behind. Edward wanted to make some new chess plays to catch Jasper off guard, Carlisle wanted to catch up on a series of books he is reading, and I wanted to get started on Alec's new place. But please, dear, tell us what is going on."

I told them how my mom was upset with me for imprinting on Alec and how she told me we couldn't be together. Carlisle had started in on my wrist which he had to re- break in three different places. With each snap of my wrist, the pain began to flood back, and as I got deeper into the story and I told them what I had said about my father and how my mom had hit me, the tears came back too. Esme held my other hand and even though her touch was as cold as ice, it was all the more comforting. Edward actually looked like he felt sorry for me, which was different for him considering he has never shown any kind of emotion toward me.

"So, Leah, how did _this _happen?" Carlisle asked while he held my wrist in his hand gently as he tried to size a splint for me. I looked at Esme and her eyes were gentle. Edward looked down and away from me because he already knew exactly how it happened.

"That's the worst part about it. After she hit me, I was so hurt. Mom had never hit me before. Not even when I had done something wrong when I was little, she never touched me. You see, when my mom was a kid, I think she was eight, her dad died from pneumonia. My grandmother re-married when my mom was eleven and my mom's step father used to beat her. I remember, she told me and Seth a story once when we were younger about the last and worst beating she had ever received from her step father. He beat her into unconsciousness; the tribe had no idea that something was wrong until my grandmother was forced to call the ambulance to take my mom to the hospital. Her step father ran off, though, they never caught him. She promised me and Seth that she and Dad would never do that to us. No matter what we did wrong, she would never hit us. So, when she hit me in my room today, I lost it. I started shaking and I knew I was going to lose control." Esme's grip on my hand got a little tighter in anticipation for what I was going to tell her. I wasn't sure, but a part of me felt as though she thought Carlisle was going to have to take a trip to the hospital to fix up my mom if I had phased and mauled her. "Carlisle, I tried to tell her to move, really, I did. It was like my mouth wouldn't move. My mom saw the shaking and she started to back away. Just when I was about to scream at her, Seth came charging into the room and shoved us both out of the window before I had a chance to phase. His body weight landed on top of my wrist and, here I am."

It was silent for a while. It was funny…I had never felt so at ease with the Cullens before. I didn't know if it was because I had imprinted on a vampire, so I don't find them all so threatening anymore. Or if it was because I have seen them all interact with Nessie and I see how they _can_ love and show affection. Maybe it was because Esme and Carlisle were so caring and giving, I couldn't hate them anymore. Well, except for Rosalie. I could hate that bimbo for all eternity. I looked up to see Edward setting up his chess set and he let out a slight muffled chuckle.

"Ugh, are anyone's thoughts around here safe from you?" I asked him slightly annoyed. He shrugged his shoulders and gave me the "I don't know" look. I turned back to Carlisle and Esme to inspect my wrist and it was all bandaged up.

"Well, Leah, I am truly sorry to hear about things with your mom. I hope the two of you can patch things up. Family is important, dear. You only get one mother and I am sure at some point she will accept you and Alec. You're her only daughter, her first born, she will always love you, Leah."

Esme had wrapped herself in Carlisle's arms as she spoke to me. My heart ached a little. I was missing Alec so much and at times like these, I needed him with me.

"Esme, you are very right, but I don't know if I can forgive her for this. She hurt me so bad, and for what? Because I fell in love? Sure, he's not her idea of the perfect guy for me, but he's _my_ perfect guy. Like I told Seth, I never once judged her for being with Charlie. I think they are wonderful together. So why treat me like I have committed the ultimate sin? Just then, Edward's cell phone began to ring from inside his pants pocket.

"Hello, oh hi, Seth. Yes she's here. Carlisle just finished fixing her up. Would you like to talk to her?" Edward handed me his phone and the three of them left the room to give me some privacy, even though they could hear me from every room in the house.

"What do you want, Seth?" I couldn't help but sound agitated. I knew he wanted me to come home and smooth things over with mom, but I wasn't having it.

"Leah, look, I know you're mad at mom, but you have to come home and fix this. Mom is hysterical and she won't listen to me. She won't even listen to Billy."

"BILLY! SETH, YOU TOLD BILLY ABOUT THIS? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? SETH, DID YOU EVER STOP TO THINK THAT BILLY WOULD TELL THE ELDERS AND THEY MIGHT KICK ME OUT OF THE TRIBE?"

"Leah, calm down. I didn't tell him _why_ you and mom got into a fight. I'm not stupid. Mom didn't tell him, either. Of course, at some point you're going to have to tell him and the other elders. But for now, you need to work on mom, Leah. She's sorry for what she did. She knows she broke a promise to you, but…"

"But nothing, Seth. Look, I need some time away from mom right now. I'm going to talk to Jake. Maybe he'll let me stay on the couch, or I'll stay with Sam and Emily. I'm not coming home, Seth, and that's it! You can be the one to tell mom because I'm not speaking to her." I hung up the phone without giving him another chance to try and change my mind. I didn't know where I was going to go, but I knew that as of right then, the Clearwater house was no longer my home.

**THERE IS CHAPTER 14 EVERYONE! I HOPE YOU LIKED IT!! THERE IS MUCH MORE TO COME AS I WAS WRITING THIS CHAPTER I HAD SOME AWESOME IDEAS HIT ME AND I CAN'T WAIT TO PUT THEM IN WRITING!!! MUCH LOVE, AND PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!!! VAMP!!**


	16. Face to Face

**I do not own Twilight!! **

**Steph has it on lockdown lol**

**Leah's POV**

**Face to Face**

A week had passed and while my wrist had healed, my heart still needed mending. It didn't hit me until a few days after I had left my mother's home how much she had hurt me. If only my heart could mend itself, like the rest of my body, then this wouldn't be so bad. I had been staying with the Cullens in Edward and Bella's cottage out back. Bella had shocked me by offering it to me until Esme had finished Alec's place. At first, I right out told her no. I was fine roughing it in wolf form out by mine and Alec's mountains. Besides, I was still a part of Jake's pack, which meant I had a responsibility to my tribe. I had to protect them. I would patrol with my pack, but I refused to let them talk me into going home. Finally, one night I had gotten tired of eating raw meat and I couldn't help but want a shower. So, I took Bella up on her offer. She and Edward were very nice about it all. I stayed on the couch in the living room, not wanting to have to endure too much of the vampire scent that filled the small house. Bella, Edward, and Nessie moved back into the family home, which I think they secretly enjoyed. I wasn't alone that often, which was nice. Nessie visited with me a lot which was great. She really was a remarkable girl. She looked like she should be about five, but she was extremely advanced for her age. Edward and Bella even let her stay the night with me one night. She begged them and I don't think they could say no. Rosalie wasn't happy with it but who really cares how she feels about anything. I painted Nessie's toenails and she braided my hair into a French braid. It was nice. I taught her fun rhymes and she read Pride and Prejudice to me. I'm more of a Jane Eyre girl, but that Mr. Darcy seemed like a keeper.

I had caught myself a few times that week getting teary eyed when I saw how Nessie interacted with Bella and Edward. They had so much love for each other, the love that I used to have in my family. It didn't matter to Edward or Bella that Nessie was destined to be with Jake; that he was so different from them. I had done a pretty good job at hiding how much it hurt me. Of course, Edward knew, he had no choice...Jasper too. Most days he took pity on me and he would send me a wave of excitement. I guess on this particular day, Jasper figured I needed to deal with my feelings, so instead of changing them, he let them flow freely. Edward and Nessie were teaching Bella how to play a song on his piano and I was in the kitchen with Esme going over some plans for the new place. I looked up and for the life of me I couldn't help but think about my mom and dad. All I wanted was to speak to my father, tell him I loved him and that I hoped he could be happy for me and not hate me for what had happened between me and Alec. Then I thought of my mom. The events of the day I left played over and over in my head. I guess Edward knew what was coming, so he gathered Nessie, Bella, and the rest of the family up to go hunting. Esme noticed my change in mood and she stayed behind. I cried into her cold arms for almost two hours. It was nice to have someone listen to me and not try to fix the situation. Esme just held me close and let me have it out. I didn't care that she was a vampire, or that on any other given day we would have both been gagging from the smell of each other. At that moment, I got what I needed, even if she wasn't my mom. Someone's mother was there to hold me and understand where I was coming from.

When the family got back later on that evening I grabbed Edward and thanked him for giving me sometime alone to deal with everything. He didn't say much. He nodded mostly, but I knew he understood me. So there I was...living with Vampires, running patrol with my pack, and missing my man like no one's business. I had no idea if he had made it back to Italy safely. I had no way of contacting him, and worst of all, I had no idea when I would get to see him again.

****************************************************************************

**Alec's POV**

I had spent the last week in pure agony. I couldn't stop thinking about Leah and no matter how many plans I made up in my head about getting back to Forks, none of them would work out. It was hard to stay clear of the guard these days, so I had no free time to myself. The girl, Annabel, who I had changed before I left, had been fully transformed and she was now a blood thirsty newborn. I was in shock when I first saw her. I had been back only a few days and I was walking down the hall toward my room and I ran into her in the corridor. She looked so different. Her hair was still long and blond, but now it had a shimmer to it that would stop any man in his tracks. She had it in big loose curls that danced around her shoulders. Her facial features were more defined and her skin was milky white. Her eyes were of course a lethal crimson red and they were piercing. I was on my guard because most newborns are after only one thing; blood. For all I knew, she had Sanna bring her in a snack and I was getting in the way of her meal. She was in no hurry, though. She had a seductive smile on her face that frightened me a bit. She was wearing a hot pink long sleeve blouse that was loose fitting. It hung suggestively off of her right shoulder. The blouse was tucked into a tight black skirt that cut right at her knees, but you could see every curve. Her shoes were the same color as her blouse. I don't think I had ever seen a woman wear shoes that high before. I'm sure no human woman could walk in them, but she seemed to pull it off well. I couldn't help but shake my head to bring myself back to reality. To be perfectly honest, the entire time my eyes were looking her up and down, I couldn't help but think about how amazing Leah would look in the same thing.

"Alec, right?" She spoke smoothly now, her voice was no longer shaky the way I remembered it. There was much more control in it now.

"Yes. Hello, Annabel, I see you are doing well. Are you enjoying the 'new you'? I couldn't help but feel as though she was trying to size me up. She looked me over like some lioness that was trying to outsmart her pray.

"Yes, I am. Thank you. I guess I have you to thank for that since it's your venom that is coursing through my veins as we speak. She took a step forward toward me and I took one back. She squinted her eyes at me and a small smile spread across her full lips.

"I make you uncomfortable, don't I, Alec? Oh, I'm sorry, you haven't been around for a few days. We have a new development with my gift. Not only can I sense danger and bad situations, but I can also tell when someone else is feeling uneasy or distressed. Aro seems to think it could be a good counter for someone who can feel people's moods and emotions." I tried to play it off cool, but she had already picked up on my emotions. I couldn't hide the fact that I wanted to blind her and run off before she could hurtle herself at me.

"Oh, well that's nice. I guess you're more useful than expected. How's the bloodlust going? I know it's hard for a while."

"Actually, it's not too bad. Sanna has been keeping a steady flow of humans coming through, so it's getting better."

"Well that's nice, too. Will you excuse me, Annabel; I have some business to attend to." I walked passed her and quickly made my way to my room before she had the chance to stop me. I lay down on my bed to close my eyes and think, but all I could think about was leaving Leah in that field. The look on her face was terrible, the worst part was a little while after I left I had to land to remove any trashes of her smell. The last thing I wanted to do was erase her scent from my mind, but I had to or else there would be questions. I turned over on my side to try and think harder when there was a knock at my door.

************************************************************************

**Leah's POV**

"Come on, Seth, I'm your sister, can't you just do this one thing for me? Please?" I impatiently pleaded with my baby brother to bring some more of my things to the Cullen's, but like a child, he stubbornly refused. I was tired of wearing the same things over and over again, but I was not going to Sue's to get more stuff.

"Leah, I refuse to be in the middle of this crap. This is between you and Mom and I won't choose sides. She's my mother and you're my sister, so I will not be bringing you anything. You will have to come get it yourself. I am out of this, Leah, and I mean it."

Seth didn't wait for me to speak again. He hung up the phone. I didn't want to have to go to La Push, but if there is one thing that my brother and I both got from our father, it was our stubbornness. I walked out of the small cottage and stalked off into the woods far enough not to be seen. I stripped out of my shorts and tank top and tied them to my back leg. I quickly phased and took off in a full out sprint toward La Push. The quicker I got there, the quicker I could get some things and be done with it. God save me if I run into my mother.

I reached La Push in about five minutes, which was good time, and I stopped short to phase and put my clothes on. I didn't see my mother's car in the drive way, which was a good sign and I knew Seth was at Sam's place because I could hear Emily in the background on his cell phone. I grabbed the key that I knew was hidden under the welcome mat and I unlocked the front door. You know how they say you don't know how much you miss home until you've been someplace else for a while? Well that's exactly what happened. The first thing to hit me was the smell. I never noticed the scent my house held until now. I could smell my mother's perfume that she always left by the front door so she wouldn't forget to spray some on her way out. I could smell Seth's iguana upstairs in his cage, and the most dominant smell came from my father's chair that still sat in front of the window facing the front door.

I tried not to think about my family and how much I missed them. I ran up the stairs to my room and shut the door behind me. I flung my closet door open and grabbed a large duffle bag that was buried in the back. I didn't really care what I had to wear, I just needed clothes. I cleaned out most of my drawers and I went into the bathroom to grab some other necessities. When I walked back out, my nose picked up on a somewhat familiar scent; Charlie. I looked out of the window and I spotted Charlie's cruiser in the drive way. I could still hear the engine humming a bit, so I was sure he had just pulled up. I hustled down the steps to leave out of the back and I ran right into him as he was crossing from the living room to the back of the house.

"Leah!"

"Uh...hi, Charlie." He gave me a look that said, "hi Charlie? That's all?" I didn't quite know what to say to him. I wasn't sure what exactly he knew. I was sure he'd noticed that I had not been around, but I had no clue as to what excuse my mother gave him as to why.

"Leah, your mother has been worried sick about you. Why haven't you called her or come home to see her?"

"Look, Charlie, I'm not sure what my mother told you, but I don't need to get the third degree from you as well, okay? I already hear enough of it from Seth. I don't need your comments as well, okay?" Charlie just looked at me. He looked down and noticed the duffle bag that I was holding down by my side and his eyes widened.

"Leah! Don't tell me you're going to run off with this guy?! Are you crazy? This would kill your mother, Leah!" I dropped the bag to the floor when I heard the words come tumbling out of Charlie's mouth. He realized he had said something he shouldn't have and it was too late to take it back.

"Charlie, what exactly has my mother told you about me and why I left home?" I didn't want to lose it. If Mom had told Charlie too much, everyone would be in even more danger than before.

"Leah, listen to me…"

"NO, Charlie. You tell me right now what she told you." Charlie stepped back when he realized I was getting upset. He was no fool. He knew what I was and he knew I could be dangerous if provoked.

"Leah, all she told me was that you fell for some guy from Seattle and that he is not good for you. She told me about the fight you too got into and what happened when she hit you. Leah, look, your mother is sorry for that, she really is. But Leah, this guy can't be worth losing your family over. Besides, she says you barely know him. She said you met him online and she's worried that he is going to hurt you. I asked her to give me his information so I could look him up in the police database, but she tells me that she knows nothing about him and neither do you."

I felt a little relieved that my mother didn't spill the beans on Alec and who he really was. I had no choice to go along with the story she told Charlie, even though it was sleazy and it made me look like some stupid girl who would run off with some guy she knew nothing about. As much as I wanted to tell Charlie the truth about Alec and how much I loved him and that I imprinted on him, I was a firm believer in less is more. So I played along.

"Look Charlie, I am an adult now, and my mother knows nothing about my love life. If she can't accept me and the man I love well than I have no reason to stay here. I love my mother Charlie really I do but I won't give him up, I can't. Wait, Charlie what are you doing here without my mother?" I completely neglected the fact that Charlie was in my house unaccompanied and that he must have used a key to get in because I still had the one from under the mat and I had locked the door behind me when I came in.

"Um, your mother is over at Billy's and she needed me to stop by here on my way over there. She needed some needle and thread to do some patch work on a few of Jake's shorts. But that is beside the point. Leah, this guy could be crazy. You know nothing about him. For all you know, he could be some sick rapist who collects his pray. He could be a human trafficker. I mean, I know you have "special talents", but why put yourself in more danger than is necessary?"

"Charlie, for the last time, I can take care of myself and I don't need your advice. Better yet, I don't even want you to tell my mother that I was here. Just let her think I came and I am gone, okay? Just forget all of this, Charlie." I took the key from my pocket and dropped it on the table next to the phone, picked up my bag and headed for the door.

"What would your dad think about this Leah?" Charlie's voice was barley a whisper, but I heard him as if he were screaming at me. I stopped just as my hand reached for the door knob and my breath hitched in my mouth. I could feel myself getting upset, but not from anger. I couldn't put my finger on it, but for some reason, when Charlie mentioned my dad, it evoked a completely different emotion from when my mother had done it a few weeks ago.

"Charlie, that's not fair and you know it." I couldn't turn around to look at him. I could feel the tears began to well up in my eyes and my chest began to ache.

"It's not about fair, Leah. It's about what is right. Your father did not raise you to turn your back on your family. He taught you better than to run off with some man you don't even know." That was the last nail in the coffin. I spun around, dropping the bag at my side.

"So you think you know what's going on here, Charlie? Huh? Because let me assure you, you have no idea what is going on here. You keep listening to my mother, Charlie. Go ahead, if you want. But I am going to tell you this once and this will be the last time I will say this to you. The love I feel for Alec is more powerful than anything you have ever felt. I love him more than I love my own life and believe me, after losing my father, I know firsthand just how precious life is. I will not give him up no matter what anyone has to say, Charlie. I am so tired of having to defend the love we share for each other to people who have no idea who he is and how he makes me feel. You know something, Charlie? I've changed my mind. You go ahead and tell my mother you saw me here today. You tell here everything that happened here because I want her to know what she has done. So look at me, Charlie, memorize the look on my face because this is what pain looks like." I walked closer to Charlie so he could really see what I was feeling. "Look at me, Charlie. This is her doing, not mine. Did she tell you that she wouldn't even listen to me? Because she wouldn't. She wouldn't even let me talk to her about it. She was only worried about how it would make _her_ look. Well, fine, she won't have to worry about me anymore."

I noticed that Charlie was breathing heavy and he looked as if he could actually feel what I was going through. I turned around picked up my bag and walked out of the house closing the door behind me.

I walked into the forest, stripped down and tucked my clothes into my leg strap. It wasn't hard to phase since I was already an emotional wreck. I slung the bag on my back with my teeth and took off back toward the little cottage.

************************************************************************

**Alec's POV**

I opened my eyes when I heard the knock on my door. I was hoping it wasn't Annabel. I'd had enough of her for one day. "Who is it?" I tried to make my voice seem annoyed in hopes whoever was on the other side would get the hint.

"Alec, it's me, Jane. May I come in please?" I sat up on the bed and took a deep breath. I wasn't sure what my sister wanted, but I could tell she had something on her mind.

"Come in, Jane." Jane opened the door slowly and she gave me a soft smile upon her entrance. She sat down in the chair next to my bed and she folded her hands in her lap.

"Alec, I'm just going to get right to it because you know I am not good with words when it comes to you and I can't keep pretending with you." At that moment I stopped breathing, I had no idea where Jane was going with her speech and I was terrified to find out. She couldn't have known about me and Leah because no one knew besides Marcus and I was sure he wouldn't have told her since this was his way out as well.

"Jane, what are you talking about? Pretending about what?" My sister looked me in the eyes and she squinted at me.

"Why are your eyes getting dark? Have you not eaten lately? Wait, I'm getting off topic. Alec, I'm trying here, just bear with me, okay? Look, I know things have been changing. I know you aren't very keen on my relationship with Santiago, but Alec, that is something you're just going to have to deal with. We're in love and I can't help who I love, Alec. You're my brother and I love you too. I will always love you. Lately, you have been distant. You haven't been eating with us, you don't hang out in the courtyard anymore, we don't even play chess anymore. So you have to fill me in, because I don't know what to think anymore." My sister looked at me and I could see the pain in her face. I hated lying to Jane. Moments like these, I wish I didn't have to hide Leah from her, but I knew deep down inside that Jane would not keep this from Aro. She would go straight to him.

"Jane, I'm sorry if I have hurt you and made you feel like I'm trying to keep my distance. I just need some time to myself, that's all. You know how it is...even when we were newborns I would wonder off through the city at night and roam. Besides, I know that with Annabel being changed, you have had to spend a lot of time with her teaching her the ropes around here and that you haven't had much time with Santiago. I've had your attention for centuries, Jane, it's time I learn to share you."

Jane cracked a smile and I knew that she had bought it. I didn't want to lie to my sister, but I had to do something to calm her down. If I didn't defuse the bomb right then and there, then she would have continued to dig until she found something. I couldn't take that chance. For good measure, I played a game of chess with her and we talked for a while about Annabel and the rest of the guard. I had to admit, my sister was truly in love with Santiago. It wasn't just a physical bond that they shared, it was real. It made me ache for Leah, All I wanted was to hold her and be open with her the way Jane was with Santiago. I knew it would never happen, well, not here at least.

**Okay Loves, there is another chapter for you. I am still working some things out in my head and I'm trying to see where I want this story to go, I have a end result but with me being in my final semester of college I am having trouble with artistic inspiration. I would love to hear from you all!!! I'm trying to keep the story juicy and not boring so bare with me okay? Let me know what you think R&R!!! Love, Vamp **


	17. Note to my Readers

Hello my lovely readers!!!! I know it has been a while since I last updated but I have been soooo busy these days. As you all know it is my last semester of college and between my senior recital, final projects, and all of my activities I have been swamped!!!! Good news is Thanksgiving break is coming up so I hope to bring some chapters your way. Oh, BTW I saw New Moon the other night and for those of you who have not yet seen it… GO In my opinion it was MUCH better then Twilight and if I keep going on this subject I will be writing a movie review rather then a short note lol. So Like I said go see it and I hope to update ASAP!!!

**Love, Vamp**


	18. Misguided Ghost

I do not own Twilight!!

Steph has it on lockdown lol

Leah's POV

Misguided Ghost

The fire was roaring as I ran toward it. The sand was damp and my bare feet sank deeper into it with every step I took toward the blue flames. This was the first time that First Beach had ever looked terrifying to me. The sky was pitch black with not a star in sight, the moon was full and all around me was a fog of black smoke. I kept running to the fire, but the closer I felt, the further it was from me. I felt the tears streaming down my face, and though I never tired, my heart pounded in my chest like a drum. A figure in a black cloak stepped toward the fire when they turned to face me. I stopped running and my feet burrowed deep into the sand. It was as if all the distance I had run had finally caught up and I was right in front of the fire. I fell to my knees and as I looked up to see the cloaked figure, I saw her face. It was Jane; she looked down at me with her face twisted up into the most sinister smile and it sent chills down my spine. I tried to phase, but I had no strength. Jane clapped her hands together and two large men came toward her, dragging a limp but still alive body. When they reached her, she grabbed the man by his hair and pulled his face up toward me.

"ALEC! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?! LET HIM GO!" I fought as hard as I could, but I couldn't move.

Jane didn't say a word as she lifted her own brother over her head and tossed his body into the flames. His screams matched mine as we cried out for each other as he burned in front of me.

"ALEC, ALEC, I'M TRYING! I CAN'T MOVE. GOD, PLEASE HELP ME!"

Suddenly, I felt my body being lifting out of the thick sand and I crawled toward the flames. My hands darted out in front of me to pull my love from the flames but as I did, two strong arms grabbed me by the waist and pulled me away from him.

"NO, NO! LET ME GO! I HAVE TO SAVE HIM, PLEASE LET ME GO. I CAN'T LOSE HIM! ALEC, ALEC!!!"

* * *

I sprang up from the couch, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. It was pitch-black in the little cottage and aside from the sweat, all I could feel the tears that were streaming down my face. My chest ached and all I could do was clutch a pillow close to me to try and stop the sobs that were escaping from my mouth. I had been having nightmares for a while now, and they just kept getting worse. They all had the same theme: Alec was in trouble and I couldn't save him. I pulled myself off the couch and ran out of the front door to get some fresh air. The air was chill and despite my constant fever, the cold air felt good moving in and out of my lungs.

I found myself wandering. I had headed toward the dark forest and I had no clue as to where I was going, but I was going somewhere. I didn't bother to run and I didn't phase, I just walked. My senses were open and I let them take me over. I felt every fallen branch my bare feet touched, I felt the dirt coat my toes, and there was a light mist that began to fall. It coated my shoulders and trickled through my hair and down my back. I knew it had to be early morning due to the slight temperature change from when I went to bed. It was slightly warmer than it had been at night fall. I walked for what felt like an hour. I found myself walking down hills, looping around trees and crossing over creeks. I only looked up when my nose realized the scent had changed. I no longer smelled the moss on the trees or the rotten leaves that had withered and died on the forest floor. The smell was potent; it was salty, and fresh. When I looked up I realized I had wandered to the place of my nightmare. I was standing on First Beach.

I made my way to the damp sand and the first touch of my foot was terrifying. The image of the flames flickered in my mind and I had to shake them off. I bypassed the usual rocks and broken logs that I usually sat on when coming here. Instead, I chose to sit on the sand. I closed my eyes and listened to the waves crash. The wind was blowing slightly and the salty smell lingered around me. I pulled my knees to my chest and locked my arms around them. The rain had begun to pick up, first with small drops then bigger ones until there was a steady downpour. I lied back on the sand and let the rain soak through my black tank top and dark blue shorts.

"God, we haven't spoken in a while, but I know you haven't forgotten who I am. I know it seems like the only time we talk is when I want something, and I know that's not good, but no one's perfect, right? The truth is, I'm so lost right now. I'm alone and hurting, and there's no one left to talk to. Seth doesn't get it, my mom won't listen, Alec's gone and dad…well, I'm pretty sure he's with you. I guess what I mean to say is, I need a sign...something to tell me that it's going to be okay, 'cause I've got nothing. I've completely lost myself in this situation and I hate that. I'm in love with Alec, mind, body and soul, and what hurts the most is that I can't share that love. Not with him or anyone else, I can't …"

"Leah?"

* * *

I know I know I'm the worst, sorry guys I know it's been a loooong time since I last updated but like I said this last semester of school was craaaazy. I'm finally done!! So while I'm taking some time off before I start my job I am going to update as often as I can. I know this chapter was short and it doesn't give you much but I am trying to transition some ideas so go with it okay? Lol anyways I hope you guys enjoyed it and sorry for the Cliffy you'll find out soon enough who has found our Leah. Please R&R and let me know what you think and feel free to leave me some ideas I love that stuff!!!! Love ya always~ Vamp!!


	19. Swallowed by the Sea

I do not own Twilight!!

Steph has it on lockdown lol

Leah's POV

Swallowed by the Sea

"Leah? What the hell are you doing out here?"

My head turned swiftly toward the direction of the all too familiar and unpleasant voice that had interrupted me mid-prayer. I let out an annoyed sigh and rolled my eyes.

"The last time I checked, this was still my res too, Paul. What are you doing here?"

Paul rolled his own eyes as he strolled over toward me, kicking up sand on his way and hitting me with it.

"Paul, why are you such an asshole, I mean really?" He shrugged his shoulders and sat down next to me in the sand.

"Soooo, not that I care, but why are you sitting out here in the rain like some emo kid from Seattle? We're res kids Leah, we don't do this kind of stuff."

I was above and beyond tired of Paul's crap and he had JUST gotten here. All I wanted was to be alone. Granted, I have plenty of free time at Bella and Edwards place, but the reservation was my home, I hated being away from it. Although, being interrogated by Paul wasn't an aspect of home I missed.

"Paul, I just came here for some peace, okay? I couldn't sleep, so I took a walk and wound up here. Is that okay with you, or do I need to call first before I come home?"

"Oh, so this is your home again? Because for a second, I thought you made that smelly little cabin of yours your home. You know, since you can't get enough of those leeches that you have come to love... Aren't they your family now?"

I hopped to my feet and stood over him pissed beyond belief. I always knew Paul was an ass, but he had really shown his true colors this time. It was one thing to disrespect me, but to imply that I had replaced my family with the Cullens was not going to fly.

"What the HELL is your problem! Do you think your better than me now because of all of this? What, because you can walk around here happy holding hands with Rachelle and because Billy has given you his blessing, it's okay for you to talk to me like I'm some kind of trader to my family and my friends? FUCK YOU, PAUL! You don't know shit about anything I am going through, all you know is what you hear from Seth and my mother. You have no idea what I have been going through, so don't sit here and try to put me down."

"Well that took long enough. Are you mad now? Because personally, I've been waiting for this for about, ohhhh, maybe three or four weeks. Leah, you're pissed – fine, be pissed. Things are messed up at home, fine. So fix them. You wanna call this place your home, then COME THE FUCK HOME! Do you have any idea how torn up your mom is about all of this? At least you have people to talk to! She barely has anyone who she can be fully honest with."

"SHUT UP! I am so tired of everyone taking her side and telling me how broken up _she_ is. Paul, I. CANT. HELP. WHO. I IMPRINTED. ON! I am sooo tired of having this conversation, it's not even funny. I don't even have the pack to really back me up…"

Paul jumped up and got in my face close enough for me to see the bags under his eyes from lack of sleep.

"So, what are you going to do about it? Because clearly, this isn't working. Huh? Point taken, Leah. You didn't choose to imprint on the leech- Alec. But you _did_ choose to move out of your mom's house. You _did _choose not to talk to her. You _did_ choose to stay with the Cullens and shut yourself off from everyone while you wait for him to come back. This isn't the Leah I'm used to. What the hell is wrong with you, Leah? You're not yourself anymore. You used to be strong, you used to be a hard ass. To be honest, I miss it. I miss fighting with you and I miss you standing up for yourself. I know life has dealt you shit the past few years, Sam left you, your dad died, you're the only girl in the pack, you imprinted on a vampire. I get it, Leah. But this, this sitting in the rain and sulking shit IS NOT YOU. You wanna make it right? Go talk to your mom. Make her listen to you.

Get off your ass and GO. GET. ALEC! Whatever plan you and the Cullens have come up with is not working because you're here ALONE. Leah, you ARE my sister because you are a member of my pack, and if you need me, fuck it, I'm here and I will get the rest of the guys in on it too and Jake will get the Cullens. Shit, we've saved their ass enough times to count. Make it happen, Leah."

Even though I didn't want to admit it, Paul was right, I had spent too much time crying and being the damsel in distress. I forgot that I hated those types of girls. I hate being the girl who needs people to fight for them. I hated being that girl. I had lost myself. If I wanted my family back, then I had to go get them. And If I wanted Alec… then I was going to get him, too. Period.

"You're right. I can't sit around like this anymore, it's not like me. I just wish I had seen it sooner. Most of all, it sucks that it was _you_ who had to point it out to me. I'm going to talk to the Cullens tonight; I want to try and come up with some sort of layout before I go head first into some war with these Italian bitches."

"Now that's what I'm talking about! You're starting to sound like your old stubborn, headstrong self!"

I told Paul to shut up as I pushed him away from me and we went our separate ways. I really wanted to hug him and thank him for waking me up. Who was I really kidding? I couldn't stay with the Cullens forever, and in the past when I wanted something I went for it head first no questions asked. Most of all I knew that I couldn't do any of this without my mom and me making everything okay between us. If I didn't come back from Italy, even though the chances were slim, I still wanted her to know I loved her. I _needed_ for her to accept my love for Alec, and for her to understand that he's not like his "family". So, I had a stop to make on my way back to the little cottage that I had been calling home for some time now. I needed to go home.

* * *

I made my way up the path that led to my house and for the first time in a while, I had butterflies in my stomach. What if mom didn't want to see me? What if I waited too long? It hurt to think that I might have burned a bridge with my own mother. I had to take the chance. I would never know if I didn't ask. I walked up to the front door and instead of using the key that I knew was under the matt, like it had been since I was a small child, I chose to knock instead. I knew Seth was patrolling and I didn't want to scare her by barging in. Since my change, I have been able to walk very quietly and there had been a few times when I had scared her.

_Knock, knock, knock_.

It seemed like it took her no time at all to get to the door. It almost felt like she was waiting for me. The front door swung open and there my mom stood, staring at me. Her jet black air was flowing freely around her shoulders and she was wearing the robe and bedroom slippers Seth and I had gotten her for Mother's day last year. She didn't say anything, and neither did I. We just stood there, looking at each other.

I don't know who said it first…well, we really didn't really _say _anything, but at the same time, it didn't need to be said. I could see it in her eyes that she was sorry. My eyes must have been saying the same thing because I practically fell into her arms while standing in the open door way. She hugged me for what felt like hours. We just cried as I held on to her and she stroked my back. I realized how much I missed her scent; lavender and blackberries. It was the strongest scent that I could recognize, next to Alec's. I had missed her more than I had thought and it felt good to find comfort in her again. I finally broke the silence.

"Mom, I'm sorry." My voice was shaking and cracking. I had to get myself together because, even though this part was over, we still had to talk about Alec being in my life. I was not going to give him up. I couldn't, even if I tried.

"Leah, baby I know, and I'm sorry too. Come on in, I was just putting some tea on." I followed her to the kitchen and I glanced passed the clock on the way on my way. It was past 7 a.m. I must have been on the beach for at least three hours without realizing it. I sat down at the small wooden table in the kitchen and I rubbed my hand across the small burn mark that I got when I was eight from my Easy Bake oven… Yeah, not so easy. I laughed a little to myself at the memory. Mom must have been seen me while she was pouring our cups of tea because she started to laugh too as she sat down next to me.

"Your father never got over you almost burning the house down with that oven of yours. I remember you begged and begged us for one that Christmas, He was all for it, mainly because that meant he would get to eat the cakes with you. But I was worried you would burn the house down. We both laughed because we knew what was coming next. Then, when the table caught fire, your father was afraid I would yell at him, so he tried to keep flowers on the table so I wouldn't notice. Little did he know, you had already told me about it. I just liked the fresh flowers every day."

We both got quiet again as we sipped our Jasmine tea. We both knew what was coming, but neither one of us wanted to make the first move. I took the first step.

"Mom, you know we have to talk about this, right? I mean, I know it's not going to be easy on you because it's not easy for me. It's not even easy for Alec. He's struggling with this, too. But it is what it is, Mom. I love him and he loves me. He's my imprint and there's no getting around it. I know _what_ he is scares you and it scares me too, but what you have to understand is it's _who_ he is that I love. He's sweet and smart, he's seen so many things and I know you feel that his being a vampire over shadows it all, but Mom, he's more than that. You just have to get past the other stuff. He's working toward changing his life. He knows that he has to change, and the Cullens are going to help. He's going to come here and learn to live like them so he doesn't have to hurt people anymore.

Mom, this is going to work. I know you're worried about the tribe, but the way I look at it, in a way, there was something within the tribe that made me this way. I was given this life as a wolf. I was given the ability to imprint. I don't believe that the love Alec and I have for each other is a mistake. If it is, then it was a mistake that our ancestors made, not me, and definitely not Alec."

Mom sat there for a while, holding her cup of tea in her hand. She was staring down at the burn mark on the table and I knew at that moment, she was thinking about Dad and what he would do. I didn't want to interrupt her. This was not something that could be considered lightly. It was a very serious matter and we both knew it. She looked over at me with tears in her eyes and she took my hand in hers.

"Leah, what does he do for you? I mean, how does he make you feel? Do you light up when someone says his name? Do you melt when you hear his voice? When you look at him, does it feel like there was a part of you that you never knew was missing until you found him and now you're whole?" It didn't take me anytime to answer because all of these things were exactly how I felt about Alec.

"Mom, it's all of that and more. I feel like nothing can touch me or hurt me when I'm with him. He makes me happy and it makes me cry just to think of him. Not because I'm sad, but because I am so happy that God blessed me with a man like him. Despite his faults, Mom, he is everything I have ever wanted. Not just because he is my imprint, either. A big part of me feels like if Alec and I were to meet each other under different circumstances, we would still be meant to be. If he wasn't a vampire and I wasn't a wolf, it wouldn't matter, Mom. So, I hope that answers your question, because there is no other way for me to explain it. I can't put it into words, I just know it's right because I can feel it in every bone in my body."

She was squeezing my hand like I was going to run off again. Her breathing was a little ragged and I figured it was because she was trying to hold back the tears that were about to flow over in her eyes. I could tell that Mom was as tired of crying over this as I was. Again, I didn't rush her, I just held her hand and we sat at the table. By the time she was ready to talk, our tea had gone cold and the sun was almost fully out.

"Leah, Seth told me about Alec and the group of vampires he lives with all the way in Italy. I don't know how you plan to get him here and I don't know how you plan to get him to change his lifestyle, either. But, the one thing I do know is I don't _want_ to know, not just for me, but for Charlie as well. If he found out, then that means he would find out about Bella and Nessie, and we can't have that."

She looked stressed, like she did right after Dad died, and she was trying to figure out how we were going to make it. I felt bad for putting all of this on her, but she was my mother. I needed her. She looked up at me, her eyes a little brighter than before.

"Well, since you both can't live in La Push, I want to help you decorate your place once all of this is said and done. I mean, if Alec is going to be my son-in-law someday, I am going to want to visit with him as often as I can, right?" Before I knew it, I had lunged myself at her and she held me close. All we could do was laugh.

"You know, Mom, Paul is the reason I came here this morning. I was at the beach and he talked some sense into me."

"HAHAHA! To think that Paul could talk some sense into anyone is a laugh. You must have really been in need of some advice, baby girl. HAHAHA."

"Yeah, I know, but you know me…I'm just like Dad, it takes me a while to see everything clearly."

"I know, baby girl, I know. Look, I'm starved. Do you want some breakfast?"

"Yes, please, and we better hurry before Seth gets home from patrolling."

"Yeah, you're right about that one."

Mom hopped up from the table and I watched as she worked her way around the kitchen cooking breakfast. I had missed her cooking. Hell, who was I kidding, I missed her. Now all I had to do was get the Cullens to help me come up with a plan to get Alec back in Forks. But for now, I just wanted to be the old Leah, sitting in my mama's kitchen, eating and laughing with her.

"Hey, Mom?"

"I love you too, Leah."

**I know, I am the worst. Life has been crazy and I am soooo sorry I have not posted a chapter in the longest. I have been really busy at work and in my life these days. Also I have been trying to see where the story was going to go and I have FINALLY figured out what I want to happen. I promise I will not wait so long next time to post!! Love you all ~ Vamp**


	20. Up In the Air

I do not own Twilight!

Steph has it on lockdown lol

Leah / Alec POV

Up In the Air

**Alec's POV**

I was starting to grow tired of pretending, I walked around this dismal castle like everything was okay and I was satisfied with the way everything was going. On the inside, I was screaming and the only person who knew was Marcus. I did my best to stay away from Annabel but it was clear from her advances and hints from Aro that she was meant for me. He even went as far as sending her out with me to check up on other covens. The week I went to Denali to check up on the coven there was pure agony. Aro liked us to travel the human way when we went over seas so I took the helicopter. To my surprise As I was loading up I saw Annabel sitting in the co-pilot seat looking at me the way a lion looks at a slow wildebeest.

"Aro sent me, he said I am to shadow you every so often on trips in hope that I may strengthen my gift of sensing dangerous situations." I looked back at her trying to hide the disdain that I truly felt and I plastered a fake smile on my face to try and keep her in the dark.

"Oh, well this will be a very pleasant trip for you, Denali is very beautiful. We won't be staying long, just enough time to check in without the coven knowing. We don't want them to suspect us of anything. Aro just likes to check in from time to time on the larger covens that don't travel often. Just to make sure they are obeying the laws." I climbed in my seat and we were off. I felt like I was on a one way trip to hell.

The most repulsive part of the trip with Annabel was that she kept trying to find a way to touch me. Her hand on my knee, pushing back my hair, something to get her hands on me. Not to mention she would not stop talking, I had to muster up all of my strength to keep myself from snatching every one of her senses away from her. I had always been a God fearing person, even after the change I still believed in God. I prayed a lot on that trip. Granted Annabel was beautiful and any man would die to have her. But she was no Leah, my frozen heart would only thaw from the warm touch of my wolf no one else.

**Leah's POV**

I stayed with mom for a little while longer after breakfast, we laughed and talked and I got caught up with all of the gossip that was going around on the res. I had really missed a lot.

"Mom, I have to get going. I want to get my stuff from the Bella and Edwards cottage and I want to thank them for letting me stay with them. I'll be home later tonight, for good."

"That's all I needed to hear, I'll see you later baby girl and please be safe." She gave me a kiss and I was off. I didn't want to phase because I didn't want the boys in my head just yet. I knew they were going to jump on Paul for volunteering their services to take out the Volturi. I didn't want to fight about it all just yet. I knew that I was going to have to come up with some kind of plan to get the Cullens in on it all. Carlisle wouldn't be to keen on picking a fight with the Volturi. I knew Emmet would be in and hell Bella too. I knew she wanted full security for Nessie and with the Volturi around, Nessie would always be in danger. As my brain started to turn with ideas I knew I had to cover them up before I got to close or Edward would her my thoughts. So, I just kept thinking about the conversation I had with my mom. When I finally reached the Cottage I silently called out to Edward. He was by my side in no time with Nessie on his back, she had her I-pod on and she was swaying her head back and forth to the music.

"So your going home? I'm happy to hear that. It's about time you straightened things out with your mother Leah. She loves you very much and I know you and her can find a way to make this work with Alec."

"Edward, I really want to thank you. You and Bella, the whole family has been great I am very grateful for that. I never thought I would be here, standing in front of a vampire thanking him for his hospitality. And I am going to work this out with my mother and Alec. I wanted to thank Esme but the house is quiet, where is everyone?"

"Oh, Alice forced everyone to go to Seattle for new clothes. I had Jacob go hunting with us so, Alice couldn't find us." Nessie laughed at her dad and kissed him on the cheek. "Isn't my dad smart Leah?"

" I couldn't help but laugh myself. " Yes, he is Ness, so I guess your getting used to having us Wolves around Edward?" I folded my arms in a joking manner which was different for the both of us but we went with it.

"I guess I have since they never leave my home. First Seth, then Jacob, now you… oh wait you are leaving. Well theres one out of my hair." The three of us laughed and I gave Ness a hug before they ran back to the house at vampire speed and left me to pack up my stuff. I told Edward I would spray the cottage down with disinfectant to try and get the smell out. I also left most of the windows open to bring some fresh air in. I grabbed my bags and closed the door behind me, it was time to start a new chapter. I was ready to get my man and my family back.

**Alec's POV**

After doing a quick check in Denali Annabel and I set off to go back to Italy. I was actually very curious to see if she sensed anything on our trip.

"Annabel, did you feel any danger while we were in Denali?" She turned her head sharply toward me. Almost shocked that I had started a conversation with her since she usually had to make me talk.

"Oh, um, no nothing at all actually. To be honest It felt very peaceful, it was a change from the feelings that I have when we are home. I mean, well, there is something about the castle… There is a strong sense of fear, I can feel traces of it all the time but it is usually strongest at meal time, or when we are in meetings with Aro, Caius, and Marcus. I don't know what it is or who it is coming from particularly but I do know it is coming from more than one person at a time. I guess once I develop my gift more I can pin point things like that."

This was the first time I had actually had a semi intelligent conversation with Annabel. She was a very bright girl, and though her body and face are very mature I still call her a girl because she has the mind set of a teenager still. She is still young in her new life and it will take her sometime to adjust fully. I was actually becoming curious as to how she was _really_ dealing with her newborn status.

"Alec, may I ask you something? And if it is to personal by all means please change the subject I will get the hint that it is not a topic that you choose to discuss with me but I must ask. How do you really feel now? I mean, do you ever think of your family? Or what your life might have been like?"

I took from her questions that the glamour of her new life was starting to grow old. She was now questioning her choice.

"That is not to personal, in fact I was wondering when you would start to ask questions like this. To be honest Annabel, I can not really remember my family, I was changed a very long time ago and when you're a vampire most memories of your human life leave you as you go on. A part of me believes that I forced myself to forget my family and my past to escape the pain. You see, my sister and I well, we would have not had a future if it were not for Aro. The gifts that Jane and I have as you know are not something that people take lightly. We were about to be burned at the stake for witchcraft when Aro saved us. He kept us just as he kept you, he saw our gifts and thought we would be helpful. So I can not tell you what I think my life would have been had I not become what I am because, I would have not lived to see it."

Annabel studied my face for a while, I could tell she was trying to sense my feelings but at the moment I did not feel like I was in danger or uneasy. I could also tell that she was thinking about what I said and her situation.

"Alec, can I tell you something that you can not share with a single soul?" I turned the auto pilot on to give her my full attention. Usually I would have been skeptical of a request like this but I let her continue.

"Yes, you may." She took a deep breath closed her eyes and then opened them again.

"I don't think I can stay here."

**I know I know its been like a year since my last chapter…well…maybe not a year but ya'll know what I mean. Life has really changed and I am suuuper busy. I am a college grad now and a full time Kindergarten teacher . I am also starting plans for my wedding next year so life is craaaaaazy. I hope to write more soon I have some ideas just no time really to write so I will do my best to update ASAP. Plus my beta is in her senior year of college (YOU GO GIRL!) so she is mega busy too. I am actually posting this chapter without her looking it over b/c I can't even imagine bothering her lol So be gentle on my grammatical errors and stuff like that k? Thanks! Much Love, Vamp **


	21. Your Move

I do not own Twilight!

Steph has it on lockdown lol

Leah / Alec POV

**Your Move**

**Alec's POV**

A few weeks had passed since Aro sent Annabel and I to check on the Denali coven. Annabel caught me off guard with her questions about this life and how I feel about the Volturi. When she told me she wanted to leave my jaw almost hit the floor. Inside my head I had wheels spinning in every direction, it was easy to have more than one thought at a time being what I was. I had Leah in my head, the increasing concept of loosing my sister when I leave the Volturi, If Marcus will be strong enough to leave too, and now in the front of my mind, did Aro send Annabel with me to pick my brain about my feelings toward my family. Or, was Annabel being truthful, did she really want to leave? And if she is being truthful, would she be interested in leaving with me and Marcus? I mean of course she would have to understand that if she went with us there would be no Alec and Annabel. That I feared would be the deal breaker, but her gift would be a good one to have when we had to battle with the Volturi. That I knew was not an option. If Leah and I wanted a real chance at happiness and security. The Volturi had to die, there was no question about that.

"Good Evening Alec, how are you my son?" I stopped in my tracks when I heard Aro's voice, not that I didn't hear him coming but I didn't want to run from him and make him think I was avoiding him. What I did not like about the situation was that I was standing in the round courtyard with only one way out, and that was where Aro was standing. I knew something was wrong because Aro never ventured out into the courtyard. If my heart were still beating it would be pounding out of my chest.

"Aro, this is a surprise, you usually do not come out to the courtyard. Need a change of scenery? I was trying to act normal I think I was pulling it off, I just had to keep moving in some way so he couldn't get his hands on me to read my thoughts.

"I guess you could say that, I needed some fresh air and I also wanted to speak with you, and to my delight, here you are." Aro didn't move, he stayed in the door frame looking very content. I need you to do some thing for me Alec, something very important and I can only trust you with it.

I'm usually pretty good at reading people but with Aro it is different. It has always been like this with him. He keeps his face like stone completely un readable and I never know what he is going to say. I find myself holding my breath in anticipation of what's to come. I notice he is once again staring at me waiting for some sort of response that I clearly forgot to give him so I quickly correct my error.

" Yes sir, anything for you …you know that."

Aro smiles and takes a few steps forward and I silently sigh in relief that he has given me a small escape route in the event that I need to make a speedy getaway. I notice that even though he has a small smile remaining on his face I know his head has a thousand and one thoughts running through it and as he continues to move around the perimeter of the courtyard I find myself circling with him like we are about to engage in a dance or even worse a duel. He stops in the center of the yard and turns to face me.

"Alec, as you know, we need to keep a close eye on the Cullen coven. They are growing in numbers and now that Bella has shown us her amazing gift I am almost certain they will try to exterminate our family. I need you to take Annabel to Forks and monitor their behaviors. I know they will be aware of your presence with that talented Pixie of theirs that can see the future but as long as she sees no danger it will not be a problem. You must make yourself known to them. Get Annabel close enough to sense their moods and emotions. Try and see if they are hiding anything."

Inside I am boiling over with the excitement of going back to Forks. As soon as Aro said the very word Leah's face flashed in my head and I had to repress a smile from forming on my face.

"I can do this, and I am honored that you would trust me with such a task as this one. If there is anything to be found I promise you…we will find it."

Aro moved closer to me and I stepped out of the way to let him pass and avoid his touch.

" I know you will not let me down my son, now please inform Annabel of your departure and be on your way."

He was gone before he even finished his sentence and I set out to find Annabel. Now I just had to figure out how to see Leah without Annabel catching us. I couldn't fully trust her yet even with her recent confession to me but I had to figure something out and fast. I couldn't bare leaving Leah behind in Forks again without having our plans set. The lives we are living are very much so like a game of chess, one false move and your king and queen are exposed. A year ago I would have been ok with loosing this game, but the pieces have become to important to risk since I met my Leah. She is my queen and this is one game I am determined to win.

**Yes it has been to long, but I am back and ready to keep this story going! Xoxo Vamp**


	22. Talking to The Moon

I do not own Twilight!

Steph has it on lockdown lol

Leah / Alec POV

**Talking to the Moon**

**Leah's POV**

It had been a few weeks since I returned home to live with mom and Seth. I had gotten used to Charlie being around the house, I didn't really realize just how serious he and mom were. Sadly sleep hadn't been my friend as of late. I found myself spending more and more time in the open field where I first saw Alec. Night after night I go there and pray he will appear. The stars light the night sky and I sit alone, talking to the moon. Hoping he's on the other side of it talking back. I still patrol with the guys but I have been doing more hiding out in human form because it's getting harder to keep my plans to bring down the Volturi out of my head when we are all together. Paul keeps giving me side glances urging me to tell Sam but I don't want to let him in my head just yet without a solid plan or back up from the Cullens because I know he will shoot me down. So instead, I sit in this field and try my best to figure out the mess my life had become and how to fix it.

I found myself leaving the house after dinner rather than trying to sleep tonight.

"Leah, where are you going? I thought you didn't have to patrol tonight? Seth said Just he and Quil were going out."

"I know mom, I'm just going for a run, I need to get some hair and clear my head. I'll be back soon, I promise I won't stay out to late."

I didn't give her a chance to interject I bolted out of the door and took off at my fastest human speed toward the field. I must have not noticed I took a different route this time because I caught a hint of vamp in the air. I realized I was passing the Cullen house so I split off to the right to avoid any interaction. I wasn't really in the mood to hide my thoughts from Edward.

I made it to the field before I had time to even break a sweat. It was quieter than usual, spring had hit and there was a slight breeze in the air that made the trees dance and sing ever so quietly. I lay on my back in the middle of the field and watched as they swayed from side to side all at once, almost as if they were in some sort of chorus line. The moon shown bright above me and being that we were in Forks, there weren't any tall buildings with bright lights around so the stars were very visible. The grass was lush and gentle against my almost boiling skin. I loved the smell of spring, it was fresh and while slightly warm, there was still the hint of the crisp winter in the air. It reminded me of my dads after shave. The smell of it always filled the upstairs hallway every morning like clockwork. Dad would be the first one up in the mornings and the last one to sleep at night. All I had to do was follow the scent of his after shave to find him in the house. I guess that's why I love this time of year so much. It reminded me of him.

Just as I was settling into my thoughts and letting the trees sing me their soft lullaby, I picked up on a familiar scent coming from the east forest. I should have known one of them would have heard me pass the house on my way here but I was hoping for discretion…so much for that.

"Well hello Leah."

The little pixie of a vamp is beside me before I even sit up to greet her.

"Hey Alice, I guess you heard me pass the house on my way out here?"

"Of course I did, well, smell you is more like it."

Alice has this ability to always make me smile, I guess it's because if I didn't have to phase everyday of my life I would wear some of the same things she does. Sadly, I am stuck in cut off's and t-shirts. I think she secretly knows I enjoy her wardrobe, when I stayed with the Cullens and would randomly be in a good mood, Alice would teach Nessie how to pin my hair up and drape my face with curls. Truth is Nessie is my little angle and I would do whatever she asked of me.

"So Alice how can I be of service to you this evening?" I asked with a slight mocking distain in my voice which of course she ignored being she was Alice.

She had this sly grin on her face that made her top lip curl a bit and the glimmer in her eye was brighter than usual. It took me off guard.

"Alice, what the hell are you up to?"

"Leah, he's coming, tomorrow night, right here where we sit Alec will be landing."

The only thing I could make out of her statement was Alec, and here tomorrow night. I tried to contain myself but before I could get a grasp on my emotions I burst out into tears and frankly quite loud sobs. Alice grabbed me and held me tight to her and despite the smell that I am sure was overwhelming the both of us she didn't let go until I was strong enough to pull away. I whipped the tears away from my face with the sleeve of my flannel shirt and did my best to catch my breath and compose myself to ask her questions.

"Alice, I don't understand if Alec is my imprint that how can you see him? He's tied to me it doesn't make any sense."

"I know, but I didn't actually see _his_ future, it was the future of another member of the Volturi, a girl, long blonde hair, about your height, and blood red eyes. I saw them in one of the vulture's helicopters. They are on their way to Forks. It doesn't look like anything confrontational, well of course not from Alec's side, but I do not know about her. I showed her to Edward in my mind and he has no knowledge of her either. Carlisle's guess is that she is new to the Volturi and she must have a gift because Aro sent her along with Alec alone. Leah listen, I know you want to see Alec but it is very important that you don't show yourself without us being able to assess the situation first…

I cut her off before she could finish.

"Alice look I understand you don't want trouble but I NEED to see him. I'm dying here without him. I fall asleep every night in this field and pray I wake up to him next to me, I think about him constantly and I WON'T be kept from him!"

"Leah, I completely understand, I don't even know what I would do if I couldn't see Jas everyday. I'm not going to pretend like I know what your pain is like because I don't, but you HAVE to trust us Leah. We need to see what their mission is and if she can be trusted. I promise we will keep her occupied long enough to give you and Alec time to see each other. I can't promise it will be a significant amount of time, but it will be something."

I knew she was right, there would be no way to see Alec if this girl was with him, she would have been informed of my kind before hand by Aro and told to watch out for us and there would be a fight, and oh a battle it would be. If I shed first blood the Volturi would be back in Forks and we would be helpless without a plan to protect not only ourselves but the town. I had to be more rational and think of this like a game of chess. I can't leave the important pieces exposed and sacrifice everything. I knew Alec would appreciate my critical thinking and the thought of it made me smile to myself.

"Ok, Alice, I trust you, all of you, but you have to listen to me and listen carefully, because I can't take this anymore. I have to figure out a way to free Alec from that Klan of monsters. I know I can't do it by myself, and I also know I can't depend on just my brothers to help me. I am going to need the Cullens to join us. I know it has only been a few months since the madness with Nessie and things are just settling down but Alice. I helped your family stay together and alive, I need you all to do the same for me and Alec. Please?

I could see some hesitation in her eyes, especially because no matter how she tried since I and my brothers would be involved she wouldn't be able to see an outcome. It felt like it took forever for her to make up her mind about what to do. All I could do was sit and give her time to figure it out in her head.

"Alright, I'm in, but you know how my family is Leah, we will have to put this all to a vote. I know we will have Jasper on our side and Emmet is always ready for a fight. But it will be harder to get everyone else on board. Plus we have Nessie to consider, someone has to make sure she is safe at ALL times.

"I know, believe me I would never want anything to happen to Nessie, or any of you for that matter."

"Well would you look at that, Ms. Leah Clearwater has found a place in her heart for Vampires…Could it be?"

I rolled my eyes as we both stood to our feet, We had approximately 24 hours to talk this over with the Cullens, get them to vote in our favor, figure out a plan, and bring my brothers in on it…It was going to be a VERY long night. Before Alice could say go, I was sprinting back toward the Cullen house with her at my side.

**OOOOOOOOK little darlings, I know it has once again been eons since I have updated but hey, life calls. I have been jotting down ideas for this story and I have finally gotten myself to a point where I can write a couple of chapters at a time and post them back to back. SO look out for the next chapter in the next few days… PROMISE ~ Vamp **


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